Citizens for Global Solutions CEO Don Kraus was quoted in an Inter-Press Service article written about last week's Senate hearing on the role and future of women of the Arab Spring and how it relates to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women treaty.

When asked why the Senate hadn't passed CEDAW yet, Kraus said,

"The U.S. is schizophrenic when it comes to treaties - it works on creating them, but then has problems ratifying them."

He also noted that failure of the U.S. to ratify CEDAW could hurt its credibility when advocating for women's rights in other countries and said,

"U.S. ratification would provide credibility to U.S. diplomats when they urge other nations to abide by commitments they made when they ratified CEDAW."

Click here to read the article in full.

Last night I had a conversation with a Senator, who I consider a friend, about Libya.  It was a private conversation so I won’t mention his name.  But after listening to President Obama’s speech, he was still very concerned about what the U.S. was doing in Libya. For him, the concept that we were there to protect civilians wasn’t good enough.  Nor was the concept that if the international community didn’t weigh in, then in President Obama’s words, “if we waited one more day, Benghazi, a city nearly the size of Charlotte, could suffer a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world.”

The United States Senate agreed to the New START Treaty today. The bilateral nuclear arms treaty passed with bipartisan support by a 71 to 26 margin. Today's rollcall vote came after months of highly partisan debate and despite a packed Senate schedule.

Adoption of this treaty demonstrates a commitment to responsible and cooperative U.S. global engagement. President Obama, Vice-President Biden, and Senators Kerry, Lugar, and Reid deserve special praise for their vision and leadership. New START's approval is also testament to the courageous 13 Republicans who placed national security above obstructive partisan politics.

As posted on the Huffington Post:

Harry, it looks like you defied the odds in Nevada and are going to be in D.C. for another six years. Amen. But winning elections is one thing. If you seriously want to prove that you still have the chops to remain Majority leader in the next Congress, it's time to get serious about finishing the current Congress on a winning consensus-building note.

While there are certainly many important issues on your plate that are far from guaranteed, why not show your true leadership skills? Pass the New START nuclear draw-down treaty. It has strong bipartisan support and is a security no-brainer.