The UN must streamline its decision making process so it can start backing up its lofty words with action.

Listen to experts review the findings of the recent report from the American Academy of Diplomacy and the Stimson Center, "A Foreign Affairs Budget for the Future: Fixing the Crisis in Diplomatic Readiness," including recommendations to increase personnel and foreign aid.

Listen to Stephen J. Hadley, assistant to the president for national security affairs, discuss the security situation in Iraq and the broader U.S. agenda in the Middle East.

Listen to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter discuss the prospects for the Middle East peace process.

The time is ripe for President Obama to press for Senate passage of the Law of the Sea Convention and expand U.S. influence on oceans governance, write Scott Borgerson and Thomas Pickering.

The Century Foundation recently released a report from an international task force sent to Afghanistan, in the hopes that it might help to identify possible ways in which to end the war in Afghanistan.

Written a year after U.S. and coalition forces went to war with Iraq, a time when American officials faced questions about U.S. staying power, this timely report strongly urges President Bush and senior members of Congress to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to Iraq.

With mounting costs to American lives and treasure in Iraq, and success there so clearly tied to American staying power and the coherence of U.S. strategy, the Bush administration must sharpen and deepen its commitment to making Iraq a better and safer place. As a first step, the authors argue that the president should set the direction for his administration by making a major foreign policy address to the nation, explaining the importance of seeing the task through, as well as the costs and risks of U.S. engagement in postwar Iraq.

Written before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, this report accurately predicted that winning the peace in Iraq would be a far greater challenge than winning the war. The report says that this challenge falls largely on President Bush, who must make clear to the world that the United States is prepared to stay the course for the multibillion-dollar, multiyear commitment of U.S. troops, civilian personnel, and other resources that will be needed to achieve a lasting peace.

A conversation with Stephen J. Hadley, assistant to the president for national security affairs.

Short Description: Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) discusses Iraq and his recent trip to Syria.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter says that, while he doesn't expect Hamas to change overnight, there is hope for the Middle East peace process if Israel can negotiate with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Watch former U.S. President Jimmy Carter discuss the prospects for the Middle East peace process.