Condoleeza Rice and Julia Levy introduce and describe the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force on U.S. Education Reform and National Security, which is part of CFR's Renewing America initiative and asserts that fixing the nation's underperforming education system is critical for strengthening the country's security and increasing its economic competitiveness.
When faced with a rising tide of violence, largely caused by their own policy mistakes, the U.S. occupation embarked on the reconstitution of an Iraqi military. The resultant Iraqi security forces, under the control of Nuri al-Maliki, are today on their way to occupying the same role as the armed forces of the Ba'athist regime, writes Toby Dodge.
This Independent Task Force report asserts that fixing the nation's underperforming K-12 public schools is critical for strengthening the country's security and increasing its economic competitiveness.
Last August, the Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney performed what has become a quadrennial rite of passage in American presidential politics: he delivered a speech to the annual convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Jeh Charles Johnson, General Counsel of the Department of Defense, gave this speech on "National security law, lawyers and lawyering in the Obama Administration" at Yale Law School on February 22, 2012.
Frank Klotz argues that the closure of a military base is economically and emotionally difficult, but the U.S. military cannot afford to maintain facilities it no longer needs, especially in the midst of a budget crisis.
Richard K. Betts, adjunct senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, discusses his new book American Force: Dangers, Delusions, and Dilemmas in National Security.
Colonel Chad T. Manske, USAF, says Western economies and capabilities are more inextricably linked than ever and warns against a policy shift away from U.S. security and interests in Europe.
The Pentagon's strategic review sets the stage for a new era of restraint in U.S. military spending and a focus on priorities in Asia. CFR's Richard K. Betts and Max Boot discuss the challenges facing the U.S. military and the implications for U.S. defense policy.
Abandoning counterinsurgency doctrine after Afghanistan would doom the U.S. military to irrelevance and impotence, writes Christopher Sims and Fernando Luján. Not so, says Bing West; like it or not, the United States will be much less ambitious in future wars.
As the United States looks ahead, it faces two central challenges in foreign policy: enlarging the zone of prosperity and democracy in the West while balancing the rise of China and allaying the fears of the United States' Asian allies.
Authors: Adam Entous, Siobhan Gorman and Joseph Barnes
Adam Entous, Siobhan Gorman, and Julian E. Barnes review how U.S. drone strike campaigns led to friction between the CIA and State Department and consider the consequences of recent CIA concessions.
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.