Foreign Policy Blogs

U.S. Diplomacy

Obama in the Middle East: Fading Red Lines and Eroding Credibility

Obama in the Middle East: Fading Red Lines and Eroding Credibility

A post last month argued that President Obama was fast approaching a defining moment for his foreign policy in view of the mounting evidence that the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria used sarin, a lethal nerve gas, in violation of Mr. Obama’s numerous warnings

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Benghazi and Hillary Clinton’s Day of Dissonance

Benghazi and Hillary Clinton’s Day of Dissonance

Last Wednesday was a day of extremes for the former Secretary of State, who was in Beverly Hills to pick up a public service award from a private foreign policy organization.  There her tenure at the State Department was lauded as activists from a group called “Ready for Hillary 2016” gathered …

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The Desi Factor in U.S.-India Relations

The Desi Factor in U.S.-India Relations

According to a new Gallup survey, more than two-thirds of the U.S. public has a positive impression of India, a score that even edges out Israel’s traditionally high favorability rating.  This is the latest indicator of how decisively American perceptions about the country have changed.  Not too long …

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The Asia Pivot Has Credibility Problems

The Asia Pivot Has Credibility Problems

Tom Donilon, the U.S. national security advisor, was at the Asia Society in New York last week to talk (transcript here; video here) about the Obama administration’s effort to shift Washington’s strategic focus away from the military quagmires of the Greater Middle East to …

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A Look at U.S.–Iran Relations Under the Shah

A Look at U.S.–Iran Relations Under the Shah

Editor’s Note:
The following is a summary from a selected project at York University in Canada. The project entitled “U.S. Foreign Policy toward the Shah of Iran” examines U.S.-Iran relations under seven U.S. administrations prior to the Iranian revolution.  The project was also presented recently at the Crossing Borders Conference in …

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Secretary Kerry and Global Public Opinion

Secretary Kerry and Global Public Opinion

With Secretary Kerry currently traveling on his inaugural trip overseas as secretary of state, the Pew Center has compiled data on public opinion of the U.S. in the countries that he is visiting. Public opinion in the various countries on his agenda (though Qatar, Saudi Arabia and …

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Secretary Kerry Needs to Bring His “A” Game

Secretary Kerry Needs to Bring His “A” Game

“We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible”
– Vince Lombardi
Will Secretary of State Kerry prove to be a master of the foreign relations game by overcoming the seemingly impossible? Or will he have a hard time finding his footing on the slippery geopolitical …

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Architects without Umbrellas

Architects without Umbrellas

For decades there have been conversations, tough questions, “ah-ha” moments, deep insights and common sense shared in one-on-one exchanges with John Kerry and Chuck Hagel. In all those times interacting with them, watching them, analyzing them, not one umbrella has been spotted.
These men are not appeasers or pleasers. They are …

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How Secretary Clinton Got It All Wrong

How Secretary Clinton Got It All Wrong

 
“To work with all our heart and all of our might to make sure that America is secure, that our interests are promoted and our values are respected.”
-  Former Secretary of State Clinton
If only former Secretary of State Clinton had remained true to the words she uttered so many times …

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McDonough’s Elevation and the Obamians’ Ascent

McDonough’s Elevation and the Obamians’ Ascent

The pending appointment of Denis R. McDonough, currently President Obama’s deputy national security advisor, as White House chief of staff will have major ramifications for how the administration formulates foreign policy.  First, it underscores the argument in my last post about the subtle but …

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Hagel, Kerry and the Ghost in Their Heads

Hagel, Kerry and the Ghost in Their Heads

President Obama’s nomination of Chuck Hagel as his Defense Secretary has sparked a raging debate over whether the views held by the former Senator from Nebraska are sufficiently in the U.S. foreign policy mainstream.  Lost in the tumult, however, is how his appointment (along with John F. Kerry’s as Secretary …

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America vs. China: A Counter-Narrative Arises

America vs. China: A Counter-Narrative Arises

Given all the fanciful prognostications about how China is poised to eat America’s lunch, it might sound odd that the country’s new leader, Xi Jinping, is sloganeering about the need for national “rejuvenation” and “revival.”  He is, of course, attempting to harness patriotic sentiments in order to boost the Communist …

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Obama is still bluffing on Iran

Obama is still bluffing on Iran

An unexpected shadow was cast over President Obama’s swing through Southeast Asia last week by the fighting in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.  The diversion is interpreted by some as a sign of how the combustibility of the Middle East will undercut Washington’s much-ballyhooed “pivot” toward …

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The Problem With “42 Allies”

The Problem With “42 Allies”

You might think most foreign policy wonks were looking forward to last night’s presidential debate but most I know were actually dreading it. It was well known that the difficult and pressing questions on foreign policy would not be asked, and to be honest, foreign policy …

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In Case You Missed It: Gourmet Cooking as Diplomacy

In Case You Missed It: Gourmet Cooking as Diplomacy

If you would like to work for the State Department, you can now consider going to cooking school and then joining the American Chef Corps, launched on Friday. According to the Washington Post,
…more than 80 chefs are being inducted into the first American Chef Corps. These food …

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