Senator Rand Paul presented these remarks as the Tea Party Response to President Obama's State of the Union address on February 12, 2013. Senator Marco Rubio presented the Republican response.

Senator Marco Rubio presented the Republican Address to the Nation, in response to President Obama's State of the Union address on February 12, 2013. Senator Rand Paul presented the Tea Party response.

The surprise resignation of Pope Benedict XVI has given rise to speculations that the next pontiff to lead the Catholic Church will hail from the developing world, says expert James P. McCartin.

Iran's reluctance to negotiate over its controversial nuclear program makes a deal with international powers unlikely, says CFR's Carla Robbins.

Led by EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht and Unites States Trade Representative Ron Kirk, the U.S.-EU High Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth presented its final report on February 11, 2013. It recommended the launch of trade and investment negotiations between the United States and the European Union, which leaders announced they would do.

Despite its booming economy, Mexico continues to struggle with alarmingly high levels of violence linked to drugs and organized crime. This video primer examines the crisis and explores policy options for Mexico and the United States.

Secretary John Kerry and Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird gave these remarks on February 8, 2013. They discussed the U.S.-Canadian trade, travel, and security initiative laid out by President Obama and Prime Minister Harper in 2011, and how the two countries collaborate on energy and global foreign policy issues.

Ed Husain hosts Bernard Haykel in a discussion of the convergences and divergences in Gulf governments' policies toward the Arab Spring, both domestically and regionally.

What sort of foreign policy agenda will President Obama's second term pursue? Asia, trade, and Mideast crisis management must all be in the forefront, say four global experts.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Joint Chief of Staff General Martin E. Dempsey testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on February 7, 2013, about the September attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya and the response of the Defense Department. Panetta's and Dempsey's prepared remarks and video of the hearing are available on the Committee's website.

Germany's Bundesbank remains an influential actor in eurozone policymaking, and its recent disagreements with the ECB raise concerns about managing the zone's debt crisis. This Backgrounder explains.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made these remarks at a meeting with Iran's air force on February 7, 2013, responding to U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's offer of direct talks about Iran's nuclear program.

Michael A. Levi and Daniel P. Ahn say, "If lawmakers decide to go ahead with further deficit reduction, they would be remiss not to take a hard look at higher oil taxes as part of the deal."

Ed Husain leads a wide-ranging discussion with AbdulMawgoud Dardery of the political challenges facing Egypt and the Freedom and Justice Party's vision for the country's future.

In this Energy Brief, Daniel Ahn and Michael Levi model the potential consequences of substituting taxes on oil consumption for either higher nonoil taxes or reduced government spending as part of a larger deficit reduction package, and argue that oil taxes can improve economic performance while reducing oil consumption if done right.

CFR Senior Fellows Robert M. Danin and Ed Husain lead a conversation on the current situation in Syria and discuss the challenges that lie ahead for the country and the international community.

Micah Zenko says, "Most analysts and journalists have focused on President Obama's expanded scope, intensity, and institutionalization of targeted killings against suspected terrorists and militants. However, perhaps the enduring legacy of the Obama administration will be its sustained, rigorous effort to shape and define-down the idea of war."

Timothy F. Geithner, the 75^th Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, will join the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) as a distinguished fellow. Geithner, who was previously a senior fellow at CFR in 2001, will be based at the organization's headquarters in New York.

France says it will withdraw from Mali once an African peacekeeping force is in place. To keep Islamists at bay, the United States is considering increasing its military presence in the region. A better approach is to focus on fixing the governance issues that fuel radicalism to begin with, says John Campbell.

Globalizing Torture is the most comprehensive account yet assembled of the human rights abuses associated with CIA secret detention and extraordinary rendition operations.