Council on Foreign Relations

Max Boot says a strategy that focuses on defeating the Taliban and reducing the corruption that allows them to thrive can produce victory in Afghanistan.

Max Boot argues that even with the withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq, the United States must continue to fight for Iraq's future.

Max Boot argues that lawmakers should look to history before rushing to cut defense spending.

Max Boots states that President Obama displayed particular shrewdness in his avoidance of drama in the flap over General McChrystal's recent interview, and in his immediate appointment of General Petraeus as commander in Afghanistan.

Max Boot remembers General Marcel Bigeard.

Max Boot says that while General McChrystal displayed a lack of media savvy in his recent remarks, he deserves credit for putting in place a strategy to turn around the war in Afghanistan, and a chance to see if it will work.

Max Boot argues, "Israel had no obligation to allow the ships to reach Gaza, but surely there was a smarter way to stop them."

Max Boot says, "The United States still possesses unprecedented power projection capabilities, and just as important, it is armed with the goodwill of countless countries that know the United States offers protection from bullies."

Max Boot argues that Kurdish success in Iraq suggests what Iraq can become in a few years.

Max Boot says, "Unless the U.S. does more to address the Iraqi prime minister's postelection moves, billions of dollars and thousands of lives could be for naught."

Max Boot discusses suicide bombings and their ineffectiveness at achieving the attackers' larger goals.

Max Boot argues that cost of the U.S. health care plan is incompatible with maintenance of the United States' superpower status.

Max Boot asks, "Why is the [Obama] administration so hard on Israel...when it's so soft on its despotic neighbors?"

CFR's Max Boot foresees a great deal of future American involvement in Haiti, but only with a strategic justification.

Because Afghanistan's prison system falls well short of international standards, the United States and its allies need to detain prisoners themselves, writes Max Boot.

"The turnaround in the past decade is so dramatic as to be almost unbelievable," write Max Boot and Richard Bennet, commenting on the positive changes in Colombia since it was on the brink of being taken over by insurgents as recently as 2000.

Although President Obama's address at West Point left some important questions unanswered, his decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan changes the equation in favor of the United States, writes Max Boot.

"Despite the headlines about bombings in Baghdad, the situation has improved immeasurably," writes Max Boot, referring to the better security in Iraq on his most recent trip. Nevertheless, he cautions that, "there is no room to be complacent," as there is much work yet to be done.

Although corruption, drug-trafficking and other civil issues are important priorities, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan needs to become more engaged with the war raging around him, writes Max Boot.