Joseph Biden, Barack Obama's "single most influential foreign policy adviser," is poised surpass Dick Cheney as the most powerful vice president in American history in the president's second term, writes David Rothkopf.

Since 2006, the Mexican government has been in embroiled in a bloody drug war, which has failed to significantly curb trafficking. This Backgrounder looks at Mexico's eradication efforts, along with U.S. policy options for one of its most important regional allies.

President Obama and President Karzai published this joint statement on January 11, 2013, which discusses the future of U.S.-Afghan relations.

In an interview with ABC News, Richard N. Haass answers eight questions about the "fiscal cliff," Israel, President Obama's recent cabinet nominations, among others.

Micah Zenko says the nomination of John Brennan to become the next CIA director can be crucial in scrutinizing the U.S. drone program.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon says that the war in Afghanistan, which has spanned a decade and cost more than 2,000 American lives, has now faded to one key, albeit short-sighted, question: How many U.S. troops will remain after 2014?

This chart book shows the growth in foreign ownership of U.S. assets over time.

Paul B. Stares, David F. Gordon, and Mark L. Schneider discuss conflicts that could break out or escalate in 2013.

Sebastian Mallaby argues that although it will not solve all U.S. economic woes, a manufacturing renaissance is both possible and desirable.

Edward Alden argues that, though more by accident than design, the Obama administration is now in the position to successfully conclude the most ambitious series of trade deals since the early 1990s.

Micah Zenko argues that it is time for President Obama to reform U.S. drone policy.

Greg Miller and Scott Wilson discuss how President Obama's nominations of Chuck Hagel and John Brennan signal a shift in the administration's national security policies as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan draw to a close.

In a review of Stanley McChrystal's My Share of the Task, Max Boot says throughout McChrystal's career, the general was unshakably dedicated to his soldiers, to his wife, and, above all, to the Army and nation.

Max Boot says recent films about the CIA focus on the agency's successful operations, but also highlight a real problem—that it's actually a hypercautious bureaucracy.

The 113th Congress continues the trend in a gradual increase in religious diversity that is mirroring trends in the country as a whole.

A "disposition matrix," the continuously expanding database that highlights intelligence on targets and strategies for handling them, has become an important aspect in one of the most difficult categories of suspected terrorists: U.S. citizens.

Through an in-depth analysis of modern Mexico, Shannon O'Neil provides a roadmap for the United States' greatest overlooked foreign policy challenge of our time--relations with our southern neighbor.

Harvard University professor and economist Martin Feldstein, and Princeton University professor and economist Alan Blinder discuss the implications of the fiscal cliff and how an agreement can be reached.

Julia E. Sweig argues that President Obama has an opportunity to revitalize U.S. relations with its neighbors to the south.

Julia E. Sweig says the recent "fiscal cliff" deal marks the end of the grand bargain, and "the new normal in Washington is one of hyper partisanship, in which the Republicans have learned that if they wait long enough the Democrats will soften at the end of negotiations."