Americas

Op-Ed

Why Ending Child Marriage Abroad Is Good for the United States

Author: Rachel B. Vogelstein
Atlantic Monthly

Child marriage is a global epidemic and a human rights violation that occurs across regions, cultures, and religions. According to Rachel Vogelstein, the success of U.S. efforts to foster economic growth, improve global health, and promote stability and security will grow if this persistent practice comes to an end.

See more in United States, Society and Culture, Culture and Foreign Policy, Women, Gender Issues, U.S. Strategy and Politics, Congress and Foreign Policy, Foreign Aid

Ask CFR Experts

Why did the United States reestablish diplomatic relations with communist states like China and Vietnam?

Asked by Michael Varacalli, from New York University

The United States did not have diplomatic relations with mainland China in the late 1940s after the communist takeover (though theoretically it maintained diplomatic relations through ties with Taiwan). The United States ended diplomatic relations with Vietnam following the Vietnam War in 1975.

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See more in United States, China, Vietnam, Democracy and Human Rights, U.S. Strategy and Politics

Op-Ed

What the President Could Say in His Speech

Authors: Matthew C. Waxman and Robert Chesney
Lawfare

In President Obama's upcoming counterterrorism speech, Robert Chesney and Matthew Waxman explain that the president should focus on three areas that his administration has not followed through in a serious way: closing Guantanamo, working with Congress to put forceful counterterrorism actions on sound legal footing, and making targeted killing more transparent.

See more in United States, U.S. Strategy and Politics, Congress, Congress and Foreign Policy, Presidency