President Obama's 2012 State of the Union address emphasized his economic revival plans but it also included a potent foreign policy message, says CFR's James M. Lindsay.

Italy's budget may matter more than ineffectual Franco-German summitry, but the new agreement between France and Germany on reforming EU rules remains a reckless distraction, says CFR's Sebastian Mallaby.

Egypt's military appears to be pursuing a divide-and-rule approach to defuse mass protests ahead of planned November 28 polls, but this may backfire, says CFR's Steven A. Cook.

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.

Disunity among Libya's rebels, a growing Islamist radical movement, and angry Qaddafi loyalists will mean a continued need for NATO involvement to check a possible slide into chaos.

In four decades of rule, Qaddafi chased doomed adventures that isolated his regime from Arabs and the world. Libyans now have a chance to recast their state and reintegrate with their region, says CFR's Ray Takeyh.

The reported death of Muammar al-Qaddafi marks a dramatic end to his sway over Libya. Libyans now need considerable Western help in securing and rebuilding the country he leaves behind, writes CFR President Richard N. Haass.

The alleged Iranian plot to kill a Saudi ambassador in Washington, DC requires a strong response from the Obama administration and makes Iran a national security priority, says CFR's Elliott Abrams.

In awarding the prize to three women activists, the Nobel committee is honoring the fact that women's full participation in society is essential to peace, says CFR's Isobel Coleman.

Overshadowed by the issue of Palestinian statehood, President Barack Obama offered a strong defense of Israel but little in the way of specifics to revive the Mideast peace process, writes CFR's James Lindsay.

President Obama's much-anticipated speech on reviving the economy was heavy on familiar stimulus measures but failed to lay out policy initiatives that would spur a productive, more competitive U.S. economy, says CFR's Edward Alden.

Yoshihiko Noda, set to become Japan's prime minister, could be a reassuring presence amid economic and political turmoil, but it's not clear what energy he will have for global affairs, writes CFR's Sheila Smith.

While we can contain terrorism, we can't afford the costs of trying to eliminate it and will have to learn how to live with the chronic threat of low-level attacks, says CFR's Stephen Biddle.

While U.S. efforts to forge a better relationship with the Muslim world are important, it will also take leadership within that world to challenge the myths that lead to anger and disapproval toward the United States.

The tightening of U.S. border and immigration policy since the 9/11 attacks has been far too sweeping, turning away the kind of visitors who have strengthened the country, writes CFR's Edward Alden.

The payoff of huge investments in security precautions mean better intelligence collection, surveillance, and other security infrastructure that combine to make the likelihood of an al-Qaeda attack today very slim.

A near absence of terrorist incidents in the United States since 9/11 points to the success of the Bush administration's counterterrorism measures that once stirred controversy but now have bipartisan acceptance, writes CFR's Max Boot

U.S. homeland security is unquestionably safer a decade after 9/11 and will remain so if the country pursues a robust, yet proportional, counterterrorism effort abroad, writes CFR's Richard Falkenrath.

The United States has made real strides against nuclear terrorism, but efforts to secure nuclear materials are incomplete and will require continued commitment, says CFR's Michael Levi.

Initial U.S. successes in Afghanistan and Pakistan after 9/11 masked deeper problems that have beset Washington's effort to stabilize the "AfPak" theater, writes CFR's Daniel Markey.