Recent revelations about U.S. surveillance activities in Latin America have provoked a range of negative responses from regional leaders, but the practical consequences will be marginal, says expert Christopher Sabatini.

While the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has granted U.S. agencies broad legal authority to collect sensitive information, it is hardly a "rubber stamp" for government surveillance requests, says CFR's Matt Waxman.

The United States must formulate a coherent and comprehensive strategic policy toward the Middle East, rather than just react to events, says expert Edward P. Djerejian.

Interreligious cooperation is central to facilitating transitional justice and reconciliation in Syria, says expert Daniel Philpott.

Whether NSA leaker Edward Snowden is extradited to the United States will hinge more on diplomatic relations than international legal considerations, says expert Stephen Vladeck.

The Taliban believes it will have the upper hand in potential negotiations with the Afghan government and its partner in Washington, but it remains unclear what the insurgent group's goals are in any settlement, says expert Amin Tarzi.

The president's speech combined lofty idealism and pragmatic realism at the iconic Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on Wednesday, says CFR's Charles Kupchan.

Iranians' choice of Hassan Rowhani as president stirs hope he will moderate domestic and foreign policy but other regime sectors could interfere, says CFR's Ray Takeyh.

A new White House report alleging Syria's use of chemical weapons heightens the need for UN inspectors to be allowed to mount an independent investigation, says CFR's Greg Koblentz.

Syria, arms control, and economic ties are likely to be the focus of the Putin-Obama meeting in Northern Ireland, where both sides are hoping to set a new tone for the relationship, says CFR's Stephen Sestanovich.

A conservative candidate seems likely to win Iran's presidential election this week, but the reform movement may yet be energized by the remaining moderate contender, says CFR's Ray Takeyh.

The U.S. government needs to marshal its cybersecurity resources in support of the private sector and build alliances with international partners, says former CIA director Michael Hayden, member of a new CFR independent task force on digital policy.

The inauguration of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is a heartening milestone for Pakistan and an opportunity for Washington to restore relations with Islamabad, says expert Bruce Riedel.

Given Iran and Russia's strong support of the Syrian government, there are indications that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad may be prevailing in the country's civil war, says expert Michael Young.

President Obama's counterterrorism speech made strides toward greater transparency but missed opportunities to articulate a vision for moving beyond a perpetual war footing, says CFR's John Bellinger.

After the disqualification of popular former president Rafsanjani, it's unclear which of the remaining, mostly conservative candidates will triumph in the June presidential election, says expert Farideh Farhi.

The odds of a peaceful power transition emerging from another summit on the Syria crisis are poor, but the U.S.-Russian push for renewed diplomacy is still worthwhile, says expert Frederic C. Hof.

New plans for another global summit on the Syrian crisis represent modest progress, but the real question is whether the Kremlin is willing to withdraw support for the Assad regime, says CFR's Stephen Sestanovich.

In their first White House meeting on Tuesday, Presidents Obama and Park will likely seek to reassert the long-standing security and economic relationship between the United States and South Korea, says CFR's Scott Snyder.

The political standoff between the Shiite government of Nuri al-Maliki and Sunni protestors is fueling growing instability in Iraq, which recorded its most violent month in five years, explains Iraq expert Ned Parker.