Bush Administration

Does Obama Have His Own Freedom Agenda Or Not?

Democracy promotion after Bush.

BY JAMES TRAUB | FEBRUARY 24, 2010

Money Talks

BY JOSHUA E. KEATING | MARCH/APRIL 2010

Bargaining With the Devil

How should Barack Obama deal with evil?

BY ROBERT MNOOKIN | FEBRUARY 17, 2010

KSM Doesn't Deserve to Be a War Criminal

Treating terrorists like warriors is exactly what they want.

BY TOM MALINOWSKI | FEBRUARY 11, 2010

This Is What Victory Looks Like

How Aaron David Miller romanticizes the past and underestimates the future.

BY ABRAHAM M. DENMARK | FEBRUARY 9, 2010

Dead Terrorists Tell No Tales

Is Barack Obama killing too many bad guys before the U.S. can interrogate them?

BY MARC A. THIESSEN | FEBRUARY 8, 2010

CIA Man Retracts Claim on Waterboarding

A study in "enhanced reporting techniques."

BY JEFF STEIN | JANUARY 26, 2010

Interview: Mohamed ElBaradei

The former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency and Nobel Peace Prize laureate speaks up about the Bush administration, Iran, and his rumored bid to become the next president of Egypt.

Interview by DAVID KENNER | JANUARY 26, 2010

The $2 Trillion Man

How Obama saved Brand America.

BY SIMON ANHOLT | DECEMBER 17, 2009

No More Representatives, Please

The last thing we need is a new big shot envoy in Kabul.

BY NICK HORNE | DECEMBER 11, 2009

Will There Always Be a Pakistan?

Fissures within the military could tear not just the army but the entire country apart. It's coming sooner than you think.

BY SETH CROPSEY | DECEMBER 11, 2009

Obama's Indecent Interval

Despite the U.S. president's pleas to the contrary, the war in Afghanistan looks more like Vietnam than ever.

BY THOMAS H. JOHNSON, M. CHRIS MASON | DECEMBER 10, 2009

The Danger KSM Still Poses in Washington

The architect of the 9/11 attacks is headed to a criminal trial in New York -- but Obama's made a muddle of the rest of the legal picture.

BY JUAN CARLOS ZARATE | DECEMBER 4, 2009

Addicted to Contractors

The United States is hooked on privatized warfare in Afghanistan. And it's more costly than you think.

BY ALLISON STANGER | DECEMBER 1, 2009

Think Again: Africom

U.S. Africa Command was launched to controversy and has been met with skepticism ever since. Behind two years of mixed messages, a coherent mission might finally be emerging. Here's what you need to know about the world's next U.S. military hub.

BY ELIZABETH DICKINSON | NOVEMBER 17, 2009

When Generals and Ambassadors Feud

Take it from this former ambassador: Disagreements over the war in Afghanistan may do more long-term harm than short-term good.

BY JAMES DOBBINS | NOVEMBER 13, 2009

Don't Take Netanyahu to the Woodshed

The U.S. president and Israeli prime minister can patch things up during a meeting tonight by avoiding talks of Israel and Palestine. They should turn to Iran instead.

BY STEVEN J. ROSEN | NOVEMBER 9, 2009

Rendered Guilty

What the Milan conviction of 23 U.S. officials means for those on trial and the future of diplomatic immunity.

BY JEFF STEIN | NOVEMBER 4, 2009

Why Are the United States and Israel at the Top of Human Rights Hit Lists?

We ran the numbers and it's true: the watchdogs have their politics. But that might just be a good thing.

BY JAMES RON, HOWARD RAMOS | NOVEMBER 3, 2009

Europe's Obama Fatigue

Bush was better for Europe. No, seriously.

BY JAMES JOYNER | OCTOBER 29, 2009

The Embargo on Change

Obama or no Obama, U.S.-Cuba relations are unlikely to improve anytime soon.

BY ROQUE PLANAS | OCTOBER 28, 2009

Call in the Civilians

Counterinsurgency is at least 50 percent civilian. So where have all the Foreign Service officers gone?

BY RON CAPPS | OCTOBER 26, 2009

What Missile Defense?

Missile defense will be strategically useless against the nuclear threats from Iran -- or anywhere else.

BY YOUSAF BUTT | OCTOBER 21, 2009

The Guantanamo Countdown

President Obama promised to close the facility within a year, but eight months later, the path is looking rockier. Here's what the administration needs to do to meet its deadline.

BY SARAH MENDELSON | OCTOBER 1, 2009

Think Again: Lawrence of Arabia

Afghanistan is a mess. Suicide bombs are still going off in Iraq. Is nation-building doomed to failure? It's time to consult the original insurgent, T.E. Lawrence.

BY JOHN C. HULSMAN | SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

How to Save Lives by Breaking All the Rules

How former U.S. Global AIDS coordinator Mark Dybul ditched the bureaucracy, stopped intergovernmental turf wars, pushed for results, and helped create an anti-poverty machine that actually works.

BY MARK DYBUL | SEPTEMBER 22, 2009

Can Mosquito Nets Stop Terrorists?

A previously unreported program sheds light on the battle for Africa's hearts and minds -- and the battle between the State Department and the Department of Defense.

BY ELIZABETH DICKINSON | SEPTEMBER 1, 2009

The Real Winner of Afghanistan's Election

Meet Mohammad Qasim Fahim, the unsavory Tajik warlord whose grip on Afghanistan just got a whole lot tighter.

BY HILLARY MANN LEVERETT | AUGUST 31, 2009

Cheney's Jihad

Why "enhanced interrogation techniques" don't enhance U.S. interests.

BY PETER BERGEN | AUGUST 26, 2009

A Bright Shining Slogan

How "hearts and minds" came to be.

BY ELIZABETH DICKINSON | SEPT. / OCT. 2009