Council on Foreign Relations

European affairs analyst William Drozdiak says Barack Obama's administration will lead Washington to demand from Europe more troops for Afghanistan, a coordinated economic stimulus package, and help resettling Guantanamo detainees.

Gareth Porter, a veteran journalist and historian just returned from Iran, says early optimism that President-elect Barack Obama would open a new dialogue with Iran has dissipated.

Scott Lasensky, a Middle East expert, says the new U.S. administration should listen carefully to voices from the Middle East and that President Barack Obama's first speeches will be scrutinized for signals on his approach.

President-elect Barack Obama assembles his national security team at a time when responsibility for foreign policymaking has shifted increasingly to the White House, says Carnegie Endowment scholar David Rothkopf.

CFR President Richard N. Haass, who worked on previous presidential transitions, says that given the current world situation, he believes the first priority for President-elect Barack Obama lies in "the financial and economic side," and that "the near-term foreign policy challenges are probably Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, [and] a little bit of Iraq."

Paulo Sotero, a veteran Brazilian analyst, discusses the hopes and concerns of his country, and many Latin American states, about the economic impact of the next U.S. administration.

Irfan Husain, a columnist for Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, says the next U.S. president faces the challenge of trying to coax reforms from a splintered Pakistani leadership.

Josef Joffe, an expert on European and U.S. politics, notes unparalleled European interest in the U.S. presidential campaigns--and unrealistic expectations as well.

Allan Gyngell, a former Australian diplomat, says there is concern in Australia and East Asia that the next U.S. president might retreat from the United States' support for free trade.

Russian analyst Andrei A. Piontkovsky says the next U.S. president could face a more conciliatory policy from the Kremlin and new Russian President Dmitri Medvedev.

Serge Schmemann, a veteran journalist based in Europe, says the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign has generated "a bigger stir than any election I can remember."

Edward Alden, a CFR trade and immigration expert, says it is wrong to pin blame on NAFTA for the ills of the U.S. economy. Most of the competition that has affected U.S. manufacturing has come from the rest of the world, he says.

Walter Russell Mead, an award-winning historian, discusses the importance of national security credentials and religion in the presidential nominating contests.

Amity Shlaes, an economic scholar, says she is impressed by Sen. John McCain’s New Hampshire primary win but notes that he has not traditionally concentrated on economic policy, a chief area of voters’ concerns.

CFR's Peter Beinart says the Iowa caucuses reveal shifts in the political beliefs of both parties' bases.