The Afghan troop surge has ended and full U.S. military involvement is to sunset in 2014, leaving a fragile security situation and questions about the U.S. role, says CFR's Max Boot.

The UN General Assembly will likely address two "lightning rod" issues: ending the bloodshed in Syria and curbing Iran's nuclear development, says CFR's Stewart Patrick.

Sheila Smith argues that while recent tensions between Japan and South Korea over territorial issues are deeply worrisome for the U.S. government and for regional stability, the reality is that a stronger bilateral relationship can only come about if it is the Japanese and Korean people that lead the effort on reconciliation.

Sheila A. Smith discusses how Japan's move to replace its ambassadors to the United States, China, and South Korea with three career officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has to do as much with domestic politics as it does with tensions in the region.

In the wake of the deadly attacks on U.S. diplomatic missions in Egypt and Libya, Bobby Ghosh writes that the newly-formed democratic governments which replaced long-standing dictatorships, as a result of the Arab Spring, has contributed to greater instability and a more chaotic and unstable Middle East.

Ed Husain argues that the U.S. should counter the anti-American narrative behind protests in Egypt and Libya by building aid and trade relationships based on mutual interests.

After World War II, Europe began a process of peaceful political unification unprecedented there and unmatched anywhere else.

For decades, U.S. China policy has been driven by a combination of engagement and balancing.

Violence against U.S. diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt highlights the difficult road ahead for U.S. relations with these struggling states, says CFR's Robert Danin.

CFR's James M. Lindsay discusses the signing of the Oslo Accords on September 13, 1993, including the secret negotiations that produced the agreement, what its terms stipulated, and how it failed to produce lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

The growing likelihood of a protracted civil war in Syria does not necessarily warrant Western military intervention, which could "cause more damage, chaos, and instability than not," says Assad biographer David Lesch.

In Newsweek, Leslie H. Gelb weaves surprising lessons on when to make war and peace from interviews with Ryan Crocker, former Ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Indonesian Foreign Minister Raden Mohammad Marty Muliana Natalegawa gave these remarks in Jakarta, Indonesia on September 3, 2012.

Charles A. Kupchan says Mitt Romney's foreign policy isn't an afterthought, it's a frightening return to a bullying neoconservative ideology—and Americans should be worried.

While a nuclear-armed Iran presents "a terrible outcome strategically," a U.S. or Israeli military attack carries unforeseeable risks, says CFR President Richard Haass.

Experts from three countries offer their views about the role foreign policy might play in U.S. political conventions and what interest there is from the perspective of their countries.

Recent "insider attacks" on U.S. forces raise concerns about the Afghan security transition in 2014 and long-term U.S. support for local troops, says CFR's Stephen Biddle.

Pakistan-U.S. ties have rebounded, but domestic turmoil and looming leadership transitions should command U.S. attention on this vital terrorist frontline, writes CFR's Daniel Markey.

With debate raging about how to quell the Syrian crisis, Mideast expert Edward P. Djerejian says the U.S. role in the region, which is experiencing "tectonic" shifts, should focus on influencing positive change without trying to direct events.