Ray Takeyh states, "Iran may have been able to project its influence in an Iraq beset by civil war, but Tehran increasingly is on the margins as Iraq reconstitutes its national institutions."
The Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War was signed in Geneva on July 27, 1929. The convention was a result of World War I, and was signed by 47 governments.
The Convention on the Non-applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity was adopted by the UN General Assembly as resolution 2391 on November 26, 1968.
The pullout of U.S. troops by year's end points to the troubling rift in Iraqi politics and big questions about the country's stability, writes CFR's Ned Parker.
Richard N. Haass says that the war in Afghanistan began ten years ago as a narrow, modest war of necessity but has evolved into a broad, ambitious war of choice.
After a decade of fighting, U.S. goals remain unclear in Afghanistan. With the 2014 deadline to end the combat mission, experts remain divided on hopes for a political settlement, and stress political and governance reforms.
Max Boot states that an American drawdown in both Iraq and Afghanistan makes continued war—and with it the possibility of a catastrophic American defeat—more likely by emboldening our enemies and disheartening our friends.
Ten years after 9/11, author Ahmed Rashid discusses U.S. foreign policy in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and why wars in the region cannot be won purely by military force.
J. Alexander Thier interviewed by Jayshree Bajoria
As concerns grow over Afghanistan's ability to govern, USAID's J. Alexander Thier discusses development successes and challenges, singling out infrastructure and energy as critical areas for investment.
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon asks, "... will women's rights be negotiated away in the quest to reach a graceful exit - or, in fact, any kind of exit, in Afghanistan?"
If the United States is interested in leaving behind a better Afghanistan than the one it found, it needs to take the experiences of past invasions to heart.
Meghan L. O'Sullivan says that while the situation in Iraq has fallen short on hopes and expectations, Iraq's achievements are hardly minor, and the strategic benefits of U.S. intervention there may materialize in the next several years.
Two documentaries on the Afghan war, Restrepo and Armadillo, show how a combination of overwhelming military resources and aggressive counterinsurgency ultimately leads to frustration on the battlefield.
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 analyzes the potentially serious consequences, both at home and abroad, of a lightly overseen drone program and makes recommendations for improving its governance.