Backstory

The Afghan Bag Man

The foiled arrest that explains America’s failure in Afghanistan.

BY SARAH CHAYES | MAY 4, 2013

Saving Hugo Chávez

The United States never tried to kill the late Venezuelan leader. In fact, we may have even saved his life.

BY OTTO J. REICH | MARCH 25, 2013

A Personal History, An American History

How one Marine's diary helps us understand the Iraq war.

BY PETER MAASS | MARCH 14, 2013

Who Shot A.A.?

Mauritanians are still wondering who fired a gun at their country’s president. What the latest whodunit tells us about the state of democracy in a strategic corner of West Africa.

BY ALEX THURSTON | NOVEMBER 27, 2012

The Hot Seat

What you need to know about Benghazi going into this week's congressional hearings.

BY TY MCCORMICK | NOVEMBER 13, 2012

It Ain't 1979 Anymore

Why this week's attacks on American embassies aren't the Iran hostage crisis all over again.

BY TY MCCORMICK | SEPTEMBER 12, 2012

Mexican Roulette

A deadly gun-running gamble just cost America's ATF chief his job. But the gun lobby gave him little choice but to try.

BY JAMES VERINI | AUGUST 30, 2011

What Was at Stake in 1962?

A closer look at the nuclear stockpiles of the world's two superpowers as the Cuban Missile Crisis began.

BY RACHEL DOBBS | JULY 17, 2011

The Bad Boy Makes Good

What Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly, Haiti's pop star turned president, learned from a lifetime in music.

BY ELIZABETH MCALISTER | APRIL 8, 2011

What Would Marx Say about Cairo?

History repeats itself -- revolutions even more so.

BY DAVID ARMITAGE | FEBRUARY 7, 2011

The Serpent King

How a notorious Malaysian wildlife smuggler was brought to justice -- and what it tells us about stopping the world's most profitable black market.

BY BRYAN CHRISTY | DECEMBER 28, 2010

A Tale of Two Parties

The incredible story of how Egypt's entrenched regime will stop at nothing to stifle the birth of a liberal opposition movement.

BY ERIC TRAGER | NOVEMBER 18, 2010

How Not to Get Played by Ahmadinejad

A reporter's guide to interviewing the Iranian president.

BY BARBARA SLAVIN | SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

How Anti-Semitism Helped Create Israel

At a desperate moment in World War I, British elites appealed to what they saw as the monolithic, all-powerful forces of "international Jewry" to turn the tide of the conflict -- and promised them Palestine.

BY JONATHAN SCHNEER | SEPTEMBER 8, 2010

The Billionaire Prince

Saudi Arabia's Al-Waleed bin Talal is back in the spotlight for allegedly being one of the financiers behind the planned Islamic center in downtown Manhattan. Here are 10 things that you should know about the colorful royal.

BY SIMON HENDERSON | AUGUST 27, 2010

The "Hearts and Minds" Guys

The United States never did understand the Vietnamese 40 years ago -- and should do everything possible to avoid making the same mistake in Afghanistan today.

BY ROGER CRANSE | AUGUST 13, 2010

Stop Panicking About the Stingers

The WikiLeaks war logs only confirmed what we already know: The Taliban simply doesn't have the firepower to wreak havoc on Afghanistan's skies.

BY MATTHEW SCHROEDER | JULY 28, 2010

Trouble Down South

Why did Kyrgyzstan suddenly erupt into violence?

JUNE 14, 2010

Ethiopia's Democratic Sham

A government clampdown has rendered the outcome of Sunday's parliamentary elections a foregone conclusion. Washington doesn't seem to mind that its ally, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, is assured a win.

BY NATHANIEL MYERS | MAY 21, 2010

What the Heck Is Going on in Thailand?

How a decade of discontent finally blew up in Bangkok.

BY JOSHUA KURLANTZICK | MAY 19, 2010