Stephen Biddle examines recent combat experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq and argues that the efficacy of U.S. air power is constrained by the proficiency of indigenous allies on the ground.

North Korea, formally called the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), remains a top security concern for the United States, despite its moribund economy. The DPRK poses a serious potential military threat to its neighbors and to U.S. military bases and allies in the Pacific.

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Both the Bush and Obama administrations have concluded that the use of drones to kill al-Qaeda leaders is permissible under both U.S. domestic law and international law.

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Linda Robinson discusses her recently released Council Special Report, The Future of U.S. Special Operations Forces, which calls for conceptual, institutional, and operational changes to reorient U.S. special operations forces to ensure that they are employed to best effect.

Fawzia Koofi, Afghan Member of Parliament, women's rights activist, and presidential candidate, speaks about what to expect for Afghanistan after U.S. troops withdraw in 2014.

In the wake of a tense ASEAN meeting, CFR fellow Joshua Kurlantzick and CSIS senior fellow Bonnie Glaser discuss the rising tensions between China and other Asian countries over the South China Sea and implications for U.S. foreign policy in the region.

This session was a meeting of the Women and Foreign Policy Roundtable Series, organized by the Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Initiative.