In The News

Terrorism’s New Avatars – Part I

Bruce Riedel January 7, 2010
The foiled bombing of Northwest flight 253 brings to light the global nature of terrorist expansion. Many would have thought it unlikely that ill-governed and little-considered Yemen would be the source of an attack on the United States. But as regional expert Bruce Riedel relates, Yemen has long been a chaotic country governed weakly or by outsiders – a perfect breeding ground for terrorist...

Bickering by Champions of Globalization in Asia Worries the Region

Sadanand Dhume December 17, 2009
India and China seem to be locking horns more frequently of late, setting off alarm bells that a long standing rivalry may rekindle overt conflict. As journalist Sadanand Dhume relates, the countries have sparred over issues as diverse as delimiting borders, development loans from international agencies, trade, and the Dalai Lama. While India might be the weaker of the two, China has more room...

US Opinion Turns Against the Globalism of its President

Bruce Stokes December 10, 2009
All of President Obama’s internationalist and multi-lateral policies may come to naught if he cannot convince Americans that such a strategy is in their best interest. Moreover, if American public opinion cannot be reversed, an insular country could erode US international standing and weaken its ability to obtain a consensus on a wide range of issues, according to columnist Bruce Stokes....

U.S. Faces Rising Resistance to Its Latin American Policy

Jose de Cordoba, David Luhnow December 4, 2009
Recent developments in Latin America − Brazil’s rising power, China’s growing influence, and Venezuela’s anti-American bloc − are undercutting American influence in a region where the US has long maintained a preeminent position. The Obama administration is finding more resistance to its plans and decisions. This was seen most recently in the failure of an American plan to resolve the political...

Obama’s Afghan Gamble

Bruce Riedel December 3, 2009
US President Obama’s recent decision to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan may be his last chance to solve the worsening situation. It is a gamble likely to define his presidency. And, as former intelligence official and Senior Fellow of the Brookings Institution Bruce Riedel writes, the stakes are high: from preventing another 9/11 to the future of global Islamic jihad. While Obama...

Ayatollahs in the Backyard

December 1, 2009
At a time when he is under pressure domestically and around the world, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent visit to Latin America – highlighted by a stop in Brazil – provided him an important boost. Iran has been involved with some ideologically-sympathetic countries in the region like Ecuador, providing loans for infrastructure. On the other hand, other countries, such as Mexico or...

A Natural Alliance

Nayan Chanda November 30, 2009
Though India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the US was being viewed as all form and no substance in the lead up to the trip, the result was the complete opposite. This conclusion is inescapable when one observes the stark contrast between the joint US-China statement – issued a week earlier – and the US-India statement. The former is a study in an uneasy business partnership made...