WASHINGTON—The Bashar al-Assad regime’s handling of the Syrian uprising may not ensure the survival of the Damascus government, but it seems set on destroying any prospects for a soft landing from the current crisis. A weakened, failed Syria would be a severe strategic threat for the regional and international orders. While the diplomatic course has [...]

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WASHINGTON, DC– One year ago this week, a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami devastated the northern Tohoku region of Japan, causing the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Many observers have pointed to 3/11, as it is now called, and its aftermath coming after two decades of slow economic growth as further reasons to write off [...]

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China’s announcement of a more than 11% increase in military spending raises several uncomfortable questions for Asia and the West.

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While traveling in London this past week, I could not help but to be reminded of the enormous sacrifices that have been made by nations in times of war.  It seems as though every street has a memorial to a particular war or regiment, most striking of all is The Cenotaph, an empty tomb that [...]

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WASHINGTON–The protests in Afghanistan over the burning of copies of the Quran confiscated from detainees at Bagram Airfield have led to more than two dozen deaths, and have severely — perhaps even permanently — undermined the United States’ determined efforts to win hearts and minds in the country. The killing of NATO troops by members [...]

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WASHINGTON – Leadership transitions are inevitably accompanied by uncertainty. Promises made by aspiring leaders – particularly on matters of foreign policy – rarely bear themselves out.  In recent American memory, Bill Clinton decried the “butchers of Beijing” as a presidential contender but did his utmost to set U.S.-China relations on an even keel after the [...]

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BERLIN/MUMBAI–The announcement last week that India was entering into exclusive negotiations with Dassault for its Rafale fighter jet represents a major coup for the French defense contractor and for Nicolas Sarkozy. The embattled French president was evidently relieved by the prospect of the Rafale’s first ever foreign sale in a deal worth over US$10 billion, [...]

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PARIS–President Barack Obama’s announcement last June of an accelerated U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan reopened debates in many European countries over when their soldiers should return from that unpopular war. French President Nicolas Sarkozy followed a few days later with an announcement that French troops would be reduced “in a proportional manner and in a calendar [...]

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WASHINGTON – As he campaigned for the U.S. presidency in 1952, Republican candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower argued that he would seek to bring “security with solvency” to the American people.  Eisenhower realized that the challenges posed by the Soviet Union could too easily stress America’s finite resources and a strategy to face that threat consider [...]

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Fewer than 30 days into the new year, the foreign policy agenda for Europe and North America has already become crowded.  North Korea, Iran, Syria, potential breakthroughs in Burma, and the still roiling revolutionary fervor in the Middle East are but a few of the issues facing transatlantic policymakers.  Iraq, facing renewed violence in the [...]

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