The Afghanistan and Iraq wars taught the United States painful lessons about the need to limit harm to civilians and compensate victims for their suffering.

Every aspiring beauty-pageant queen knows what to say when asked what she wants most: "World peace." World peace is at least nominally what we all want most. But evidently, we are not very good at making it.

A potential Taliban office in Qatar has raised hopes for a negotiated end to the Afghan war. But numerous challenges remain even as a new controversy over U.S. troop behavior threatens to derail talks.

The assassination of Afghan government negotiator Burhanuddin Rabbani signals the challenges in any reconciliation talks with the Taliban and could exacerbate ethnic divisions, pushing the country into a civil war.

U.S. efforts to negotiate a long-term security agreement with Iraq are dividing Iraqi political parties and raising questions about the future of U.S. operations.

The extension of the Mahdi Army militia’s cease-fire could improve security in Iraq, but it may also be a smart tactical move for a powerful foe.

Turkish military strikes on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq underscore the ethnic tensions mounting in the region. The unsettled matter of Kirkuk also feeds insecurity.

U.S. military progress in Iraqis affecting U.S. public opinion, but progress reconciling Iraq’s feuding ethnic factions has proven elusive

President Bush inserted the United States firmly into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as leaders from all sides set a deadline for negotiating an elusive peace treaty. 

Darfur peace talks faltered this weekend. Delegates are scrambling to put them back on track, as violence continues in Darfur.

After numerous failed peace attempts, Cote d’Ivoire forged a “homegrown” peace agreement this spring, raising questions about the role of international mediators in Africa peace processes.  

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.

At a conference in Egypt on Iraqi security, American officials met briefly with both Iranian and Syrian diplomats, indicating a shift in U.S. foreign policy in the region.

The release of British detainees prompts debate over the direction of Iranian foreign policy and future negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.

Recent Mideast diplomacy has produced no breakthrough, but a new offer from Israel—an Arab-Israeli peace conference in Jerusalem—has injected some light into the picture.

After years of holding "pariahs" at arm's length, in the last month the Bush administration has relented and opened new channels to Iran, North Korea, and Syria.

Israel, with strong U.S. prodding, has said it will allow Palestinians in East Jerusalem to vote in upcoming January 25 parliamentary elections, greatly increasing the poll's chances of taking place.

Micah Zenko and Rebecca R. Friedman argue that rather than create a comprehensive early warning system for preventing conflict, the UN can focus on other reforms to improve its ability to analyze and absorb existing early warning information.