To be fair, the White House was clear that President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday would not be focused on foreign policy, and so the basically-perfunctory treatment of international issues during the speech was not much of a surprise. Obama is clearly more focused on domestic policy than foreign affairs, but in […]
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes. Marcel Proust Why do American foreign policy decision makers and diplomats continue to misjudge the political character of Latin America and the Caribbean? Our understanding (really our misunderstanding) of the socio-political landscape of this region traps us into supporting […]
I had an opportunity to preview a new documentary that will premier on PBS entitled, After the Wall: A World United, which focuses on the political challenges that had to be overcome in order to reunify Germany at the end of the Cold War. It’s a fascinating look at one of the most critical events […]
“Our own national security toolbox must be well-equipped with more than just hammers.” Robert Gates, US Secretary of Defense US Defense Secretary Robert Gates understands that the challenges America will face in an increasingly multi-polar 21st century require capabilities that extend beyond traditional combat operations. The U.S. military increasingly finds itself ordered to support peacekeeping, […]
Several key Senate Republicans, McConnell, Graham and Kyl are leading the resistance to the ratification of the START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), claiming that the Senate needs more time to review the fine print on the treaty that would specify limits of: – 1,550 deployed warheads, which are about 30% lower than the upper warhead […]
Today the U.S. Senate will finally take up New START. There will be a lot of activity on this issue until the final vote as amendments are considered. Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) believe they have enough votes to secure passage (which is to say, enough to prevent a filibuster), and The […]
The incoming chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen signaled a few weeks ago that State Department and foreign aid programs will most likely be cut when she assumes the chairmanship in 2011. In a recent statement, Ros-Lehtinen laid out her agenda, “I have identified and will propose a number of cuts to […]
A bit of good news on the diplomatic front: The U.S. has persuaded Belorussian President Alexander Lukashenko (known as Europe’s Last Dictator) to give up its stocks of highly enriched uranium (HEU). This is a significant win because Belarus has been a difficult country to deal with in the past, and it is a pretty […]
If you are looking for an illuminating bit of commentary on U.S.-North Korean relations in light of the North’s recent shelling of its southern neighbor from someone who knows quite a bit about the subject, check out this clip of CSIS’ Michael Green on Washington Journal, courtesy of C-SPAN. Green also wrote a great feature […]
This past Tuesday, Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) came out against the consideration of New START during the lame duck session stating his desire for greater assurances of support from the Obama Administration for the modernization of U.S. nuclear labs and protection from limitations on U.S. missile defense programs. That same day, Vice President Biden and […]
Something strange happened at the UN this past week: Canada ran for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council and, for the first time in more than 50 years, didn’t get it. Stranger still? It seems the Obama Administration did not actively campaign on behalf of the U.S.’ Neighbor to the North. The details are […]
On a few occasions, I have taken up the subject of how institutional relations among states are affected by events and common missions. Writing on the Atlantic Council’s New Atlanticist blog recently, Magnus Nordenman offered his views on how the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns may affect transatlantic cooperation in the future. His basic conclusion: The […]
A few months ago, I discussed how China’s dominance of the global rare earths market threatens the ability of the U.S. to become a green technology leader. Now it seems that American steelworker unions are petitioning the U.S. government to open talks with China on the matter, and they are requesting that the Obama Administration […]
How do you pick an envoy for a “rescue” mission to North Korea? Foreign Policy’s Josh Rogin looked at how this question was answered in the most recent case involving former President Jimmy Carter’s mission to Pyongyang to retrieve American citizen Aijalon Mahli Gomes. It’s a good piece that also details the insider campaigns waged […]
For those interested in the growing U.S.-China rivalry in the South China Sea, a very good read here. It opens thusly: The nations of Southeast Asia are building up their militaries, buying submarines and jet fighters at a record pace and are edging closer strategically to the United States as a hedge against China’s rise […]