Council on Foreign Relations

Despite fears to the contrary, the apparent presidential victory of Viktor Yanukovych in some ways bolsters the democratic gains of Ukraine's Orange Revolution, says Steven Pifer.

President Obama's decision to skip an upcoming summit in Spain set off a European reaction that highlighted areas of conflicting interests between the EU and the U.S., says CFR Europe expert Charles Kupchan.

Two key issues in Afghanistan are whether President Hamid Karzai will implement reforms and whether the American public is willing to invest the time it will take for a successful counterinsurgency, says CFR defense expert Stephen Biddle.

Domestic economic problems will dominate President Obama's State of the Union address. In foreign policy, Iran will dominate administration concerns, says CFR President Richard Haass, who advocates supporting Iran's political opposition.

New strains in the Israeli-Turkish relationship stem from Turkey's concerns over conditions in Gaza and sloppy diplomacy on both sides, says CFR's Steven A. Cook.

Haiti's earthquake created a need for a tremendous short-term relief effort but also long-term reconstruction that could take decades and cost billions, says former Peace Corps director Mark L. Schneider.

As the United States plans to spur Mideast peace efforts, CFR expert Elliott Abrams says progress in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will come through development and building a legal system in the West Bank, not negotiations when the conditions aren't ripe.

"Engagement doesn't preclude criticism," says Iranian historian Ali M. Ansari, so the West should be more forthright in speaking out against Iran's human rights record.

Failures to stop the recent U.S. airliner bomb plot and the destruction of a CIA base in Afghanistan illustrate inherent problems in intelligence gathering, and al-Qaeda's impenetrability, says CFR's Richard K. Betts.

Iraqis don't blame Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for an uptick in violence, but that doesn't mean he'll prevail in March 7 parliamentary elections, says veteran Middle East correspondent Jane Arraf.

CFR's James M. Lindsay summarizes President Obama's first year as "great expectations running smack into daunting realities," including the Afghan war, China's rise, and Iran's nuclear program.

Veteran journalist Robin Wright, who covered the 1979 Iranian Revolution, says Iran's disparate but resilient protest coalition is motivated by a desire to reform the country's governing system.

A CFR expert on nuclear issues, Paul Lettow says President Obama's agenda will be heavily tilted toward nuclear issues in 2010. He says this is "the ideal moment for strong American leadership on these issues," and despite Obama's disappointment in not wrapping up a new START treaty by the end of the year, Lettow expects the treaty to be signed in early 2010.

CFR's Ray Takeyh examines the unsettled nature of Iranian politics, pointing to a fractured opposition and a regime divided on how to proceed on talks over its nuclear program.

Evans Revere, an expert on Northeast Asia, says after U.S. special envoy Stephen Bosworth's recent trip to Pyongyang, North Korea may potentially reopen the door to Six Party Talks, given time.

NATO's European members are more worried about a reassertive Russia than the threat posed by Afghanistan, says expert Robert E. Hunter. This has become the basis for an "unspoken bargain" on supporting the Afghan war effort, he says.

CFR's top defense policy expert Stephen Biddle says President Obama's announcement of a date for U.S. forces to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan could draw fire from wary Democrats, but also conveys that the U.S. "is uncomfortable with long stays."

A leading arms control expert, George Perkovich says Iranian domestic disputes have apparently doomed its agreement to ship processed uranium out of the country. The UN Security Council, he says, must be prepared to  increase pressure on the regime.

CFR nuclear arms expert Charles D. Ferguson says with an important nuclear arms control deadline approaching, the U.S.-Russia talks remain complicated by missile defense and verification issues.

CFR's Elizabeth Economy says President Obama's first trip to Asia raised his credibility as a partner in the region and exposed insecurities among China's leadership.