CFR's Bronwyn Bruton says the United States should avoid grand schemes in its attempts to fight piracy in Somalia.

The contentious border between Pakistan and Afghanistan remains a site of major conflict, and houses some of the world’s most dangerous militants.

Even as gunboats from across the globe move into their waters, the desperate, well-armed, and increasingly bold bandits of Somalia keep swarming the decks of the world's largest ships. They take what they want, they don't leave until the (higher and higher) ransoms are paid, and they won't stop until a modern-day war against piracy breaks out.

The Obama administration has initiated sweeping reviews of homeland security policies set up after 9/11. But any plans for far-reaching changes to the apparatus that oversees domestic security could face congressional pushback.

Edward Alden writes that the quest for perfectly secure borders premised on plugging vulnerabilities poses special, and possibly insurmountable, problems. The United States needs some way to distinguish serious threats from minor ones, and to calculate the costs of trying to counter those threats.

Seven years after the 9/11 attacks, Canada is still trying to cope with the new border regime that has been an enduring legacy of the terrorist attacks. In this Ottawa Citizen article, Edward Alden urges President-elect Obama to begin rebuilding trust on border issues with Canada.

In this Washington Post op-ed, Edward Alden writes that current immigration policy "was built in the wake of 9/11, but it will have to be reformed in the shadow of the economic crisis."

Since 9/11 and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. immigration policy has been focused mostly on keeping out those we don't want. In this San Francisco Chronicle op-ed, Edward Alden argues that this single-mindedness has come with a high cost to our economy and reputation in the world.

This is a brief on the piracy issue in Somalia.

The golden age of globalization is over due to slower, costlier, and less certain transportation. In retrospect, Americans may lament too little globalization, not too much.

"The war on terror has come home to America. But when did the war on terror morph into a war on illegal immigration? Today it is much harder for a terrorist to enter the United States than it used to be, but according to Edward Alden, it's also much harder for everyone else."

The next Canadian government must try to nudge the next U.S. administration back to the spirit of the 2001 Smart Border accords, which attempted to balance security and commerce concerns. Edward Alden writes that rebuilding trust between the U.S. and Canada over border issues will be critical for both countries.

In his new book, Edward Alden goes behind the scenes to tell the story of the Bush administration's struggle to balance security and openness in the wake of the worst ever attack on U.S. soil. This is a transcript of a discussion of the book and U.S. immigration policy.

Fourth session of a forum on Latin American influence on U.S. policies and politics with an emphasis on the growing Latino demographic.

Immigration reform gets scant mention on the U.S. election trail, but experts expect either leading presidential candidate to make policy reforms a priority.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, discusses Pakistan's future stability, democracy and prosperity.

Pakistan is key to success in U.S.-led  counterterrorism efforts, with its tribal areas serving as terrorist havens. But covert U.S. military actions inside Pakistan put the future of the U.S.-Pakistan military alliance in jeopardy.

Terrorist attacks in Afghanistan from safe havens across the border in Pakistan increase amid Islamabad's efforts to strike peace with militants.