Council on Foreign Relations

The Obama administration's proposed defense budget fails to align spending with calls to rebuild the military to handle irregular warfare, says expert Todd Harrison. He also cites an inability to get personnel costs under control.

Financial pressures have weakened al-Qaeda's tactical abilities, but analysts say affiliated networks are finding new ways to raise and spend money, complicating efforts to squeeze a savvy foe.

As Iraq's pre-election crisis deepens, Iraq analyst Reidar Visser says Washington must do more to counter the sectarian agenda emerging in Baghdad's political landscape.

Four experts discuss how legal and political developments should affect the Obama administration's promise to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay.

President Obama has called for tweaks to the way terror suspects are monitored, but some observers wonder whether the changes will be sufficient to prevent a repeat of the Christmas Day terror plot.

President Obama says "systemic failures" contributed to the Christmas Day airliner plot, but CFR's Steven Simon says given the huge volume of intelligence analyzed daily, reforms won't come easily.

Repercussions of the failed Christmas Day bombing continue, with policy debate focused on Yemen as a new al-Qaeda front and possible delays shuttering Guantanamo Bay.

Washington must increase aid to Yemen to help deter forces like the al-Qaeda affiliate linked to a plot to destroy a U.S. airliner, says Christopher Boucek.

Reports of Predator drones' data losses in Iraq and Afghanistan should serve as a call to action to upgrade U.S. cybersecurity capabilities, says analyst James Lewis.

President Obama's decision to transfer Guantanamo inmates to an Illinois prison could speed closure of the facility, but the move has raised both security and civil liberties concerns.

The recent spate of bombings in Baghdad is testing the U.S. commitment to withdrawal, and Iraqi political leaders' ability to maintain their grip on power, says expert Sam Parker.

Following a post-Cold War erosion of senior level attention to nuclear weapons stewardship, the Air Force general charged with protecting the U.S. nuclear arsenal says his service is finally regaining its strategic focus.

In his address to the nation on Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama laid out a strategy he says will turn the tides in the faltering Afghan war effort. Five experts analyze his approach.

U.S. President Barack Obama's new Afghan strategy is expected to include an influx of more than thirty thousand troops and an exit plan. He faces the challenge of selling this approach to war-weary publics.

The threat posed by the al-Qaeda-Taliban relationship is a crucial element in U.S. strategic planning in Afghanistan. Four experts explore the changing nature of these sometimes murky ties.

As the Obama administration assesses American troop numbers in Afghanistan, the senior U.S. Army general training Afghan security forces says the White House should also double the size of the Afghan army and police.

Afghanistan expert Thomas H. Johnson says Western efforts to force a runoff election will not produce a legitimate leader in the eyes of Afghan voters, and could further destabilize the country.

Expert Peter M. Manikas says a fresh round of presidential voting may be the only way to enhance legitimacy in Kabul despite the monumental challenges involved in staging a secure runoff election.

Despite concerns over Iran's nuclear program, the Obama administration has assessed that Tehran is years from a developing a long-range missile capable of delivering a nuclear weapon. But past Iranian secrecy and testing bombast have led some experts to remain skeptical of Tehran's capabilities and ambitions.

CFR's Mohamad Bazzi says Syria continues to "meddle" in the business of many states in the Mideast but could be a useful partner for the United States in the region.