In 2007, Australian-born MJ Greene reached a crossroad in her career. With a desire to do something new, exciting, and meaningful within another culture, she took the opportunity to work as general manager for one of the largest multinational organizations in Afghanistan. As Greene immersed herself into preparing for her new position, she had no idea that very soon, she would be mustering the courage to reveal the truth and stand up for what was right, regardless of the personal sacrifice.

Greene begins with the details of her journey as she left for Afghanistan as a fresh-faced subcontractor ready to help piece the country back together. But as she arrived in a hostile, ever-changing environment, she soon realized that she would need to rely on her instincts in order to survive. As she encountered daily work challenges that caused her to become suspicious that something was not right, Greene was led down a dangerous path lined with closely guarded secrets that forced her to rely on her moral compass for guidance.

"A Conflict of Interest" shares a true story of personal discovery as a woman living in war-torn Afghanistan must rely on her inner strength and resilience to challenge corruption, expose human rights violations, and help end discernible wrongdoing.

In 2007, Australian-born MJ Greene reached a crossroad in her career. With a desire to do something new, exciting, and meaningful within another culture, she took the opportunity to work as general manager for one of the largest multinational organizations in Afghanistan. As Greene immersed herself into preparing for her new position, she had no idea that very soon, she would be mustering the courage to reveal the truth and stand up for what was right, regardless of the personal sacrifice.

Greene begins with the details of her journey as she left for Afghanistan as a fresh-faced subcontractor ready to help piece the country back together. But as she arrived in a hostile, ever-changing environment, she soon realized that she would need to rely on her instincts in order to survive. As she encountered daily work challenges that caused her to become suspicious that something was not right, Greene was led down a dangerous path lined with closely guarded secrets that forced her to rely on her moral compass for guidance.

"A Conflict of Interest" shares a true story of personal discovery as a woman living in war-torn Afghanistan must rely on her inner strength and resilience to challenge corruption, expose human rights violations, and help end discernible wrongdoing.

During the Cold War, the US-Japan alliance was at the core of American presence, power and prestige in the Asia-Pacific region. When the Cold War ended, many questioned whether the alliance would continue to serve US and Japanese interests. In the late 1990s the USA and Japan answered that question with a formal reaffirmation of the security treaty and the upgrading of bilateral guidelines for defence co-operation. But the alliance has also faced new challenges: domestic opposition to US bases in Okinawa; Chinese criticism of a stronger US-Japan security relationship; and growing international frustration with Japan's economic policies. The alliance remains crucial to both nations' interests, but the management of bilateral security ties has become far more complex. This is an explanation of the inner workings of the US-Japan alliance. It recommends approaches to sustaining this critical bilateral security relationship. The authors are scholars and practitioners who understand where the alliance came from, how it is managed, and the strategic decisions that will have to be made in the future.

The future of the U.S.-Japan security alliance is in doubt. Events such as the 1995 rape incident in Okinawa and massive public demonstrations in Japan against the U.S. troop presence have forces Washington and Tokyo to acknowledge that the relationship they forged during the Cold War must change with changing times. In fall 1996, the Council on Foreign Relations accordingly formed a Study Group, chaired by Harold Brown of CSIS and Richard Armitage of Armitage and Associates, to reexamine current assumptions and explore the factors affection the evolution of this crucial alliance. In September 1997, the Council followed up with a workshop on the new Guidelines for U.S.-Japan Defense Cooperation. The two essays and Guidelines Report in this volume assess the international and domestic forces at work to change this " immutable" relationship