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.

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."

A former top National Security Council officer in the Bush White House tells the full inside story of the Bush administration and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

President Obama signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (also called the "fiscal cliff bill") into law on January 2, 2013.

President Obama signed the annual National Defense Authorization Act for FY13 into law on January 2, 2013.

After coming to a slow crawl on the fiscal deal, this Congress will leave a legacy of the fewest enacted laws than any since 1947; Jonathan Allen writes that the best the 112th Congress has been able to do is "avert the worst."

The November election had many consequences, but few may be as profound as its impact on the likelihood of immigration reform, says Richard N. Haass.

Elections throughout the world in 2012 brought several countries to a crossroads as they struggled with the eurozone debt crisis, the formation of post-Arab Spring governments, and recovery from economic malaise. This timeline revisits twelve of the year's most pivotal elections.