WASHINGTON — The 2010 World Cup, which kicks off Friday in Johannesburg, will present a number of intriguing match-ups that will play out on green grass, not on international waters, in conference rooms, or through diplomatic backchannels. But more than that, it will lay bare a narrowing gap between the traditional soccer powers of Europe [...]

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WASHINGTON – In his new national security strategy, Barack Obama defined his tenure as a transitional presidency that will leave Cold War thinking behind in order to adjust U.S. policy to the realities of a multipolar world. But as far as Russia is concerned, not everyone seems to be convinced that the Cold War really [...]

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BEIJING – After a rough start to the year, last week’s U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue — the mammoth biannual consultation led by Secretaries Hillary Clinton and Timothy Geithner — capped off a three-month period that has returned the Sino-U.S. relationship to a state of fragile equilibrium.   Strategic mistrust remains pervasive, as the continued [...]

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ANKARA — The Gaza flotilla tragedy is a major blow to what remained of Turkey-Israel relations–not least because it was both predictable and preventable. Israel’s boarding of a Turkish civilian maritime vessel, which ended with the death of eight Turkish citizens and one Turkish-American, naturally created a very strong and unanimous reaction against Israel in [...]

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A “must-read” document for analysts on both sides of the Atlantic has just emerged from the White House:   the long-awaited Obama Administration National Security Strategy.   This overarching statement of U.S. security priorities and perspectives is the first such effort since the Bush Administration issued its 2006 version. In the U.S. system, the National [...]

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