The United States and its allies are in danger of losing Afghanistan says this op-ed from Afghanistan Watch. The authors argue that the most serious threat to the fledgling Afghan state may be lurking in an unexpected place --in the unfulfilled aspirations of average Afghan citizens.

Experts say Afghanistan remains a winnable war, but reports of Iran arming the Taliban and mounting violence have Washington on edge.

As Colombia’s paramilitary scandal deepens, Congress balks at passing a free trade agreement and questions one of the closest U.S. alliances in Latin America.

The U.S. government has set a number of benchmarks on security, economic performance, and governance for the Iraqi government to determine progress.

This report argues that Angola deserves priority attention in the formulation of U.S. foreign, national security, and economic policies, particularly in the design of policy toward Africa. This report is also available in Portuguese.

Transcript of a Joint Hearing of the Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight, and the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia on March 27, 2007. Ambassador David Satterfield, formerly deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and now a senior advisor to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, discusses Iraq's ability to manage and pay for its own reconstruction. He asserts that there are tangible signs that Iraqis are serious about economic reform, but concedes that 'it is a work in progress'.

Regional experts Steven Simon and Walter B. Slocombe discuss the prospects for a post-surge Iraq and the case for military disengagement.

The Afghan ambassador to the United States says sluggish reconstruction prolongs instability.

With the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo set to expire this month, security sector reform is in shambles and the situation in the east remains volatile.

The process of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) of former combatants features in most of Africa’s post-conflict reconstruction programs. Though DDR programs have improved, problems with reintegration persist.

Iran has emerged as Washington’s chief bogeyman in Iraq. But some experts say Iranian influence may be exaggerated.

Barry R Rosen of the MIT Center for International Studies argues that the Iraq efforts in President Bush’s State of the Union address will likely be futile without an Iraqi government based on a legitimate political consensus.

This report from Foreign Policy In Focus (FPIF) argues that US reconstruction efforts in Iraq are under-funded. The report argues that the United States still has the potential to implement successful development and reconstruction projects in Iraq: local community members in rural villages and neighborhoods need to identify and self-manage development projects that meet their priority needs. This bottom-up approach should borrow from the lessons of experience of Morocco, says the report.

A top U.S. State Department official says Washington wants the alliance to beat back the Taliban’s resurgence.

Much attention surrounded the 2006 inauguration of Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female head of state. After a year in office, there are promising signs of change in Liberia, but many challenges lie ahead.

Steven Radelet, senior fellow at the Center for Global Development and economic adviser to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, discusses Liberia's reconstruction and the economic challenges the country faces.

A cessation to the violence in Iraq cannot come about without some kind of national reconciliation between the country’s warring factions. But previous reconciliation efforts by Shiite leaders have failed to entice Sunnis into the political fold. What are the prospects for success now?

Saddam Hussein’s death may have little influence on the ongoing insurgency and sectarian violence, but beyond Iraq’s borders it may portend worsening relations between the region’s Shiite and Sunni communities.