After a week with Lt. Col. Mohammad Daowood's battalion, "what I found is that the [Afghan National Army] looks very different when there are no Americans around."

Julia E. Sweig argues the United States has been a marginal actor in Latin America, but this could change in the Obama administration's second term.

President Obama and President Karzai published this joint statement on January 11, 2013, which discusses the future of U.S.-Afghan relations.

As the United States pivots to Asia, disputes over territories in the South China Sea have escalated tensions and threatened regional stability.

President Obama and President Karzai held a joint press conference at the White House on January 11, 2013, to discuss the transition in Afghanistan.

The government of Nouri al-Maliki faces a number of challenges in the coming year, including strong opposition from Sunnis, Kurds, and fellow Shiites, says CFR's Meghan O'Sullivan.

Paul B. Stares, David F. Gordon, and Mark L. Schneider discuss conflicts that could break out or escalate in 2013.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gave these remarks at the Opera House in Damascus on January 6, 2013.These are

A former top National Security Council officer in the Bush White House tells the full inside story of the Bush administration and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

CFR's Daniel Markey examines the prospects for new talks with the Afghan Taliban, especially given improving relations between the United States and Pakistan.

Salman Shaikh proposes a path forward for addressing the quickly escalating crisis in Syria.

Reza Aslan says, "It has always been extremely easy to inject God into political conflicts... But if we are to find an equitable end to such intractable conflicts as the one between Israel and Palestine, we must learn to actively strip them of their religious connotations. Otherwise, we will never stop fighting them."

Thanks to the rift between Turkey and Israel, Ankara's days as a power broker in the Arab-Israeli conflict are over, says Steven A. Cook.

Israel must accept that negotiating with Hamas is the only way forward, says Ed Husain.

The Gaza conflict has been brewing for a while, and although Egypt and others are working to deescalate it, there are no guarantees, says CFR's Steven Cook.

Steven A. Cook says Gaza's radiating instability proves once again that Palestine is at the center of the region's problems.

Leslie H. Gelb says all parties involved share some responsibility for the crisis in Gaza. But Hamas is by far the biggest villain.

CFR's Ed Husain discusses the significance of a newly formed coalition of Syrian opposition groups and whether a real political settlement can be achieved anytime soon.

While they acknowledge the importance of building and maintaining positive relations with China, South Koreans feel apprehensive about China's growing influence.

Every aspiring beauty-pageant queen knows what to say when asked what she wants most: "World peace." World peace is at least nominally what we all want most. But evidently, we are not very good at making it.