"North Korea's impending nuclear test is just the latest illustration of Barack Obama's weakness and naiveté abroad," writes special advisor to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, Richard Williamson, who served in the Reagan White House as an assistant to the president in the 1980s and as the president's special envoy to Sudan in the 2000s.
Frank G. Klotz says the possibility of a total stalemate on the U.S. defense budget looms very large, but with American forces still fighting in Afghanistan, and Iran and North Korea remaining potential flashpoints, the consequences could be grave.
Max Boot argues that cuts to defense spending have the potential to devastate the U.S. armed forces, and if left unchecked, will do more damage to their fighting capacity than the Taliban, al-Qaeda, or any other external foe could inflict.
Elliott Abrams poses ten questions that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee should be asking Robert Ford before confirming him as ambassador to Syria.
In this piece for Foreign Policy, Flynt Leverett, Senior Research Fellow at the New America Foundation and Hillary Mann Leverett, a professor at American University, write that American policy in the Middle East is no better under the Obama administration than it was under the Bush administration.
John B. Bellinger III says President Obama should seize the opportunity presented by Republican support for increased domestic oil and gas production to urge the Senate to approve the Law of the Sea Convention.
Speakers: Timothy L. Fort, Lonnie S. Keene and Stanley S. Litow
The December 2010 Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review emphasized, among other things, the importance of smart and coordinated foreign assistance efforts, and a whole of government approach to achieving U.S. foreign policy goals. NGOs, private sector companies, and others have traditionally worked alongside government to support U.S. foreign policy efforts that align to their own interests; from immediate responses to humanitarian disasters, to translating large scale economic development initiatives into local level implementation, to solving regional and global issues from malaria and HIV prevention, to environmental sustainability. Where public sector and private sector interests and objectives intersect, leveraging resources and improving collaboration among stakeholders can lead to positive outcomes-as well as challenges. How have government, civil society organizations, and the private sector coordinated in areas of mutual interest? What can government do to encourage a "beyond whole of government" approach to U.S. foreign policy?
Experts examine the effects of the current Congressional stalemate, minimal economic growth, and the increasing debt burden on U.S. foreign policy in the Obama administration.
On the occasion of its 90th anniversary, CFR will examine through a series of meetings and other projects how policies at home will directly influence the economic and military strength of the United States and its ability to act in the world.
Experts examine the effects of the current Congressional stalemate, minimal economic growth, and the increasing debt burden on U.S. foreign policy in the Obama administration.
On the occasion of its 90th anniversary, CFR will examine through a series of meetings and other projects how policies at home will directly influence the economic and military strength of the United States and its ability to act in the world.
The bipartisan deficit reduction plan stresses the need to tighten U.S. foreign policy priorities, even if U.S. allies fail to pick up the slack, says expert Michael Mandelbaum.
Kay King says, "The inability of the U.S. Congress to address tough problems, both domestic and international, has serious national security consequences."
The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.
The author assesses the causes and consequences of the violence faced by several Central American countries and examines the national, regional, and international efforts intended to curb its worst effects.