Patrick Disney points out the need for change in U.S. policy towards Iran, as miscommunication and confusion motivate further expansion of the country's nuclear program.
The Obama administration's Nuclear Posture Review charts new positions on potential targets of U.S. atomic weapons, preventing proliferation, and developing new weapons, says CFR's Michael Levi.
Following a post-Cold War erosion of senior level attention to nuclear weapons stewardship, the Air Force general charged with protecting the U.S. nuclear arsenal says his service is finally regaining its strategic focus.
In this First Take, CFR's James M. Lindsay says President Obama's decision to alter missile defense plans in Eastern Europe makes sense from a military standpoint but he faces challenges in selling the strategy to Americans.
CFR's Charles A. Kupchan says President Obama's summit meetings have advanced relations with Russia and consensus with industrialized states on climate change but that difficult work is ahead on both fronts.
Scott A. Snyder testifies before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment; and Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade. His testimony addresses North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests and Six-Party talks.
Pavel Felgenhauer, an independent defense analyst in Moscow, is pessimistic about a Russia-U.S. rapprochement in part because of enduring concerns about U.S. missile defense system plans.
Charles A. Kupchan, CFR senior fellow for Europe studies, says Obama's "popularity and the departure of President Bush" create a "window of opportunity to improve relations between the United States and Russia and between the United States and the European Union.
As tensions between Russia and the West mount over the military conflict in Georgia, some analysts worry about the collapse of arms control agreements.
Spector, a nuclear nonproliferation expert, discusses the merits of the U.S.-India nuclear agreement and its prospects for passage during the Bush administration.
Stephen Sestanovich, CFR’s top Russia expert, says the informal summit at Kennebunkport, Maine, restored nuclear issues as “the core of the relationship.”
Charles A. Kupchan, CFR’s top European expert, says the just-concluded G8 conference in Germany was notable for the clear effort of Presidents Putin and Bush to put aside their sharp differences on European missile defense. Kupchan also noted the compromise worked out by Bush with the European Union states on climate control issues. For that, Kupchan says, Bush deserves some credit for avoiding confrontations, and his seeming willingness to reach accords.
Russia has suspended its participation in a treaty on conventional arms and voiced opposition to a missile shield in its backyard. Is a new era of mutual hostility in the making?
The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.
Gause posits that, though the Arab Awakening has caused tensions in Saudi-American relations, the two countries do not face a crisis and still have significant mutual interests that should be prioritized.
The authors assess the strengths and weaknesses of international institutions and provide a set of practical recommendations for how the United States can strengthen the global architecture for preventive action by partnering with those organizations.
A leading Middle East scholar pens this "good introduction to the Saudi paradox of social change and political stability and an invaluable guide to the challenges the country faces." More