December 8, 2004 WASHINGTON—Congress has provided $100 million to the U.S. Institute of Peace for construction of a permanent headquarters facility in the FY 2005 omnibus spending bill signed today by President Bush. The Institute's new home is envisioned as a national center for research, education, training, and policy and program development on international conflict prevention, management, and resolution. "We are gratified by Congress' validation of the Institute's work over the last 20...

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Institute of Peace is pleased to announce that four leading specialists have joined its Muslim World Initiative. They will examine the opportunities and challenges facing the United States in its relations with the area of the world stretching from Morocco to Mindanao. Abdeslam Maghraoui, formerly a lecturer and resident scholar at Princeton University, is the new associate director of research and studies for the Muslim World. He is joined by Christine Fair, who served a...

WASHINGTON—The war on terror is "as much a conflict of visions as a conflict of arms," said National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice during a speech at the U.S. Institute of Peace on August 19. "True victory will come not merely when the terrorists are defeated by force, but when the ideology of death and hatred is overcome by the appeal of life and when the lies are replaced by truth," said Rice. Emphasizing the importance of distinguishing between a minority of extremists and the one bil...

WASHINGTON—A workshop held at the U.S. Institute of Peace in June examined the recent initiative to develop an Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization within the State Department. Co-sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the workshop included officials from the National Security Council (NSC), the Departments of State, Defense and Justice, the Congress, and non-governmental organizations. Participants concluded that the creation of an o...

June 27, 2004 WASHINGTON—The members of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Institute of Peace elected J. Robinson (Robin) West as their new Chair on July 22. West will take over from Dr. Chester A. Crocker, Schlesinger Professor of Security Studies at Georgetown University, who has served as Chair since 1992. María Otero was elected the new Vice Chair of the Institute's Board, replacing Seymour Martin Lipset, Hazel Professor of Public Policy and Sociology at George Mason University. West is...

WASHINGTON – In a speech at the U.S. Institute of Peace yesterday, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell hailed the Iraqi people for their courage in "taking risks at all levels…to serve their country” and praised the Allawi government for its "crucial first steps” to form a democratic society. He identified the new Iraqi administrative law as "a revolutionary document for this part of the world,” noted that a national conference is scheduled next month to select an interim Iraqi national counci...

WASHINGTON—Vivek Viswanathan of New Hyde Park, N.Y. was awarded first prize in this year's National Peace Essay Contest (NPEC), sponsored by the U.S. Institute of Peace. A student at Herricks High School, Viswanathan received a $10,000 college scholarship for his essay titled "Establishing Peaceful and Stable Postwar Societies Through Effective Rebuilding Strategy." In announcing the winner at the Institute's annual NPEC awards banquet on June 23, Institute president Richard H. Solomon commen...

The Institute of Peace mourns the passing of former President Ronald Reagan and acknowledges with great appreciation that in 1984 he signed into law the act establishing the Institute and nominated our first Board of Directors. In recognition of his contributions, the Institute awarded him—together with former President Jimmy Carter—the first Spark M. Matsunaga Medal of Peace in 1994.