The United States and its allies may be pondering a shift in strategy that would fold nuclear negotiations with Iran into a wider plan that addresses all of the Middle East’s crises, including the threat of civil wars in Iraq, Lebanon, and the Palestinian territories.

With polls showing Chávez strongly in the lead in the December 3, 2006, Venezuelan presidential election, the United States needs to prepare for another six-year term with the controversial leader. This report proposes a new strategic framework for U.S. policy toward Venezuela. This report is also available in Spanish.

“Chávez’s bark...is far worse than his bite,” says a new Council Special Report, which urges U.S. officials to “look beyond his blustery rhetoric…as long as Chávez does not take steps that fundamentally threaten essential U.S. interests in Latin America.” With polls showing Chávez strongly in the lead in the upcoming December 3 Venezuelan presidential election, the United States needs to prepare for another six-year term with the controversial leader.

A groundbreaking book that reveals how the underappreciated domestic political rivalries within Iran serve to explain the country's behavior on the world stage. A leading expert explains why we fail to understand Iran and offers a new strategy for redefining this crucial relationship.

The new prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, faces the difficult task of mending frayed relations with China and South Korea. Experts say that Abe has made initial progress, but the North Korea nuclear test presents new challenges for northeast Asian relations.

“Getting Iran wrong is the single thread that has linked American administrations of all political persuasions,” writes Council Senior Fellow Ray Takeyh in his book, Hidden Iran: Paradox and Power in the Islamic Republic.

Pamela K. Starr discusses a new CFR Special Report on the challenges U.S. and Mexican policy makers will face after Mexico's July 2 presidential election.

The U.S.-Turkish relationship, a Cold War strategic fixture, shows signs of fraying. A new CFR report says Washington can help repair ties by improving dialogue on Iraqi Kurds, taking a bigger role in resolving the Cyprus dispute, and boosting Ankara's bid to join the European Union.

President Bush's agenda in Vienna includes Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and trade. But in a lingering sign of trouble in the decades-old partnership, European leaders, pushed by their electorates, say they'll bring up Guantanamo, Haditha, and U.S. renditions of terrorist suspects too.

A U.S.-EU summit stresses joint resolve in confronting potential nuclear proliferation by Iran and North Korea, but also evinces continued disagreements over trade and America's conduct in the "war on terror."

Charles A. Kupchan, CFR's top expert on Europe, says when President Bush meets with top European leaders in Vienna on Wednesday, the ongoing dialogue with Iran is likely to top the agenda, along with the efforts to keep the trade expansion talks alive and the European participation in military actions in Afghanistan.

James A. Baker, III discusses his past roles as secretary of the treasury under President Reagan and secretary of state under George H.W. Bush as part of the HBO-sponsored History Makers Series.

The United States continues to face steep challenges in shaping public opinion abroad and improving its image. A new bellwether poll shows public diplomacy efforts are not making much of a dent in sharply negative views about the United States.