Only by getting its own house in order will the United States be in a position to set an example other societies will want to emulate, argues CFR President Richard N. Haass. And only by fixing itself will the United States possess the resources necessary to discourage or deal with the emergence of a serious political and military competitor.

Under the security cooperation agreement called the Merida Initiative, the United States provides military and law enforcement assistance to the Mexican government in support of efforts to combat drug cartels and organized crime. The United States and Mexico jointly developed this agreement in response to a substantial increase in drug-related criminal activity and violence on both sides of the border.

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CFR President Richard N. Haass discusses his new book, Foreign Policy Begins at Home.

Peter Orszag argues that giving health-care providers a fixed payment for each Medicare beneficiary could provide a path forward between competing views of health care reform offered by Republicans and Democrats.

CFR President Richard N. Haass discusses his new book, Foreign Policy Begins at Home.

U.S. missile defense in the twenty-first century is focused on emerging threats from North Korea and Iran, but critics say these systems are too costly and largely unproven, explains this Backgrounder.

Richard N. Haass discusses his new book, Foreign Policy Begins at Home, in which he puts forward a new foreign policy doctrine of Restoration, where the United States limits its engagement in wars of choice and humanitarian interventions abroad, and focuses on restoring the foundations of its power at home.

Shannon O'Neil debunks five myths about Mexico.

To date, Chinese officials have asserted that their interest in Gwadar is strictly a commercial effort to provide another energy corridor for Middle East oil, and Pakistani government officials stridently affirm this position. New Delhi, on the other hand, has expressed "concern" about the true motivations in developing Gwadar, suspecting that it is a Sino-Pak effort at encirclement.

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Micah Zenko weighs the options on a United States intervention in Syria.

The urge to gloat at America's imperfections and struggles ought to be resisted, says Richard N. Haass. The rest of the world's stake in American success is nearly as large as that of the United States itself.

In light of recent reports of chemical weapons being used against Syrian civilians, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon highlights frustrations felt by some State Department employees at the lack of response from the White House.

"Behind the scenes diplomacy could encourage positive responses from concerned regional parties, Arab and Israeli, that would give them all something to talk about," writes Robert Danin.

Joshua Kurlantzick says more is needed from Myanmar president U Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to foster tolerance and and reconciliation in the ethnically divided country.

The UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) was passed on March 28, 2013, and seeks to regulate and limit trade in arms in circumstances of human rights violations. Unfortunately, it will have minimal effect on the Syrian conflict. Syria's own vote against the treaty, along with Iran's and North Korea's, sounded the death knell for a universally applicable treaty to limit small arms, ammunition, and conventional weapons technology.

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Benn Steil explains in his column for Dow Jones' Financial News why the latest craze in monetary policymaking—targeting nominal output—has no staying power.

The article also provides a detailed case study of Hossam Yaacoub—the convicted Hizb Allah operative now serving time in a Cypriot prison for his role in a plot targeting Israeli tourists—to show how Hizb Allah has resurrected its terrorist capabilities. Drawn from the police depositions of interviews with Yaacoub after his arrest, the case provides unique insights into how Hizb Allah recruits and trains new operatives.

The French government published a white paper on June 17, 2008, which, according to its introduction, "substantially redefines French strategy in a 15-year perspective, embracing both defense and national security." On April 29, 2013, the government released its fourth defense reform paper, which freezes the budget, further reduces personnel and equipment in addition to 2008 cuts, and focuses on intelligence gathering, cyberwarfare, and drones.

Joshua Kurlantzick discusses the China model of economic development, which he describes as, "economic liberalization without political liberalization."

Michael Levi discusses different ways to deal with climate change.