Jonathan Tepperman says a decision by the United States to intervene militarily in Syria must be made with hard facts and an honest decision about what standing up for U.S. interests and values will entail.
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon says that while Afghan women deplore the burning of the Quran by U.S. troops, they are even angrier at the bloody protests that followed.
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon discusses the current situation in Afghanistan, where more Afghans are seeking asylum now than at any time since war in Afghanistan began.
Francis Fukuyama shot to fame with a 1989 essay called "The End of History?" which he expanded into a 1992 book, The End of History and the Last Man. His thesis was a reworking of the "end of ideology" argument propounded in the 1950s by Daniel Bell and others, with an even more emphatic twist.
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.
Nine years after U.S. troops toppled Saddam Hussein and just a few months after the last U.S. soldier left Iraq, the country has become something close to a failed state.
Leslie H. Gelb says the Obama administration's announcement of a quick end to U.S. combat in Afghanistan is a surprise decision of strategic skill and political courage.
St. Thomas Aquinas wrote his theological treatise, SummaTheologica, from 1265 to 1274. This section deals with which actions, in war, are lawful and unlawful.
Authors: Gregory K. James, Larry Holcomb, and Colonel Chad T. Manske, USAF Joint Force Quarterly
Colonel Gregory K. James, USA; Colonel Larry Holcomb, USMC; and Colonel Chad T. Manske, USAF argue that the success of Operation ODYSSEY DAWN, despite its complexity, validates joint planning processes, joint education foundations, joint training opportunities, and joint exercises.
Max Boot argues that cuts to defense spending have the potential to devastate the U.S. armed forces, and if left unchecked, will do more damage to their fighting capacity than the Taliban, al-Qaeda, or any other external foe could inflict.
Iran's threat to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz is intended to signal its deterrent capacity to the United States and bolster leadership at home amid biting economic sanctions, says expert Michael Elleman.
Authors: Captain Bradley S. Russell, USN and Max Boot Wall Street Journal
Captain Bradley S. Russell, USN and Max Boot argue that Iran must realize that by initiating direct hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz, it risks American retaliation against their covert nuclear-weapons program.
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.
Special operations play a critical role in how the United States confronts irregular threats, but to have long-term strategic impact, the author argues, numerous shortfalls must be addressed.
The author analyzes the potentially serious consequences, both at home and abroad, of a lightly overseen drone program and makes recommendations for improving its governance.
Two experts argue that despite myriad development strategies, only one can succeed in alleviating poverty in India: the overall growth of the country's economy. More