Max Boot argues that cuts to defense spending have the potential to devastate the U.S. armed forces, and if left unchecked, will do more damage to their fighting capacity than the Taliban, al-Qaeda, or any other external foe could inflict.

Peter Orszag discusses how increasing residential isolation of affluent voters contributes to the gridlock plaguing Washington.

Congressman Barney Frank discusses the Obama administration's strategy and current level of spending on national defense.

This meeting was part of the C. Peter McColough series on International Economics.

Douglas W. Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office, discusses the effects of revenue increases and spending cuts on the projected budget deficit.

This meeting is part of the C. Peter McColough series on International Economics presented by the Corporate Program and the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies.

Douglas W. Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office, discusses the effects of revenue increases and spending cuts on the projected budget deficit.

This meeting is part of the C. Peter McColough series on International Economics presented by the Corporate Program and the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies.

The United States can no longer afford a world-spanning foreign policy.

Legislative battles in Washington over once pro-forma actions on debt and transport infrastructure have raised deep concerns over the government's ability to enact sustained job-building and economic-recovery programs--and undergird U.S. competitiveness.

Max Boot says Senate opposition to a U.S. ambassador to Syria is understandable but misguided.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon says that in the wake of the U.S. credit rating downgrade, Wall Street may discover it no longer likes Washington gridlock.

CFR's Director of Studies James Lindsay and Director of the International Institutions and Global Governance Program Stewart Patrick preview major world events in the week ahead.

In this week's podcast: The United States is expected to run out of money to pay its bills unless an agreement is reached on raising the debt ceiling; Ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak stands trial in Cairo; and senior U.S. and North Korean diplomats hold 'explanatory' talks

Elliott Abrams poses ten questions that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee should be asking Robert Ford before confirming him as ambassador to Syria.

A tentative agreement on raising the debt ceiling falls far short of the deep reforms needed to improve U.S. spending patterns and the country's global standing, writes CFR's Sebastian Mallaby.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon says the debt ceiling debate has highlighted the difference in world views between Washington and Wall Street.

In his piece for The New Yorker, James Surowiecki argues that instead of figuring out ways to raise the debt ceiling, Congress should simply go ahead and abolish it.

The U.S. debt ceiling and deficit debate has led to challenges on foreign aid spending, but while aid could be leaner and more effective, CFR's Stewart Patrick argues Congress should look to consolidate programs rather than simply cut them.

While Congress is likely to raise the U.S. debt ceiling ahead of the August 2 deadline, lawmakers will still need to hash out a long-term deficit-reduction package to avoid market disruption and preserve U.S. global standing, says economist C. Fred Bergsten.

The current level of political dysfunction and ideological polarization in Congress is beyond the norm. A broken legislative branch risks plunging the United States into an economic catastrophe and damaging the nation's global standing, writes Norman Ornstein.

John Dickerson of Slate describes the redemption of a debt ceiling "grand bargain" between President Obama and congressional Republicans from the ash-heaps of legislative gridlock.

Marc Goldwein of the New America Foundation endorses the bipartisan "Gang of Six" debt deal, while warning that a failure to execute its recommendations properly could deepen economic woes.

Manu Raju of Politico documents Tom Coburn's sudden return to the Senate's Gang of Six in the midst of trying talks on deficit reduction and the debt ceiling.