Terrorist groups can never change their stripes, or so politicians regularly remind their citizens. Yet history begs to differ.

The anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, virtually unknown before the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s government, has leveraged his family name to become one of the most influential Shiite leaders in m…

U.S. foreign policy is largely directed by presidents, but Congress does have considerable influence, as this CFR Backgrounder explains.

The U.S. patent system has generated growing debate over whether it helps foster innovation or stifles it through unnecessary protections, as this Backgrounder explains.

The U.S. government has set a number of benchmarks on security, economic performance, and governance for the Iraqi government to determine progress.