Watch General Anthony Zinni explain how the United States can effectively use its power to improve security, democracy, and human rights in the world.

General Anthony Zinni argues that despite the United States’ matchless power, it is failing to achieve the goals that matter most: enhancing democracy and security, giving people opportunities to improve their lives, and increasing respect for human rights. He explains what has gone wrong and how the United States can effectively use its power to secure peace in the world.

Professor Thomas C. Schelling, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Economics, discusses his contributions as a social scientist and nuclear strategist during the first decade of the nuclear age and how his theories for security policy and deterrence pertain today.

Professor Michael Mandelbaum discusses his book, The Case for Goliath, in which he explains how the United States uses its enormous power to provide the world with the services of a government. The U.S. plays this role with the tacit consent of many of its critics, he says.

Wayne White, who was the State Department’s top intelligence analyst on Iraq from 2003-2005, says he is “very gloomy” about the situation in Iraq, and advocates that the United States set a “date certain” two years from now for a U.S. troop withdrawal.

This report from Rand examines U.S. government assistance to the police and internal security agencies of repressive and transitioning states. The report notes that throughout its history, the United States has provided assistance to a number of countries that have not shared its political ideals. Their security forces were not accountable to the public, and their practices and approaches were not transparent. The report suggests that U.S. efforts to improve the security, human rights, and accountability of repressive internal security forces are most likely to be successfu when states are in the process of a transition from repressive to democratic systems.

A "Christmas Special" from 2001, this article in the Economist discusses English as the new global language.