Stephen Biddle discusses how domestic politics still clashes with strategic imperatives in U.S. Afghan policy.

The most realistic and acceptable alternative models of governance in Afghanistan are decentralized democracy and a system of internal mixed sovereignty.

Stephen Biddle examines recent combat experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq and argues that the efficacy of U.S. air power is constrained by the proficiency of indigenous allies on the ground.

Stephen Biddle, CFR’s top military analyst on Iraq, says the only analytically sound alternatives in Iraq are to either pull out now, or to stick with a revamped “surge.”

This monograph assesses the claim that future warfare is a matter of nonstate actors employing irregular methods against Western states through a detailed analysis of Hezbollah’s military behavior, coupled with deductive inference from observable Hezbollah behavior in the field to findings for their larger strategic intent for the campaign.

CFR experts offer their analysis of President George W. Bush's final State of the Union address.

Lawrence J. Korb of the Center for American Progress and CFR's Stephen Biddle debate the accuracy of American military statistics on violence in Iraq.

Stephen Biddle examines how the death of Osama bin Laden will change a U.S. national security strategy and policy that has been shaped so profoundly by bin Laden's actions.

Stephen Biddle and Michael O'Hanlon say that renewed fighting in Afghanistan may be a sign of progress.

Stephen Biddle discusses the emergence of an "Obama Doctrine" in the president's response to the situation in Libya.

Stephen Biddle and Michael O'Hanlon argue that headway toward a viable state is slow but worth sustaining in Afghanistan.

Stephen Biddle argues that the use of air power in Libya is "intervention on the cheap" that allows the United States to attempt to protect its values and interests in the region wihtout a serious commitment.

Stephen Biddle says that President Obama's incorporation of U.S. domestic politics into his Afghan war strategy is necessary.

Stephen Biddle argues that changing incentives is the way to make the Afghan government into an adequate partner to the United States.

Stephen Biddle recounts two differing experiences with U.S. military convoys in Afghanistan.

“Having recently returned from a research trip to Iraq, we are convinced that a total withdrawal of combat troops any time soon would be unwise,” write Stephen Biddle, Michael E. O’Hanlon and Kenneth M. Pollack. Although recent success in Iraq has prompted more calls for withdrawal, a continued American presence is needed to preserve the fragile peace in that country.

Iraq's prognosis is better today than it has been for a long time, argues Stephen Biddle.

Stephen Biddle argues that if the U.S. sees the reduction in violence in Iraq as an opportunity to bring its troops home, much of what has been gained could be lost.