In The News

Karzai Has More Demands for Accord Extending US Troop Presence

Tim Craig, Karen DeYoung November 28, 2013
Afghan elders approved of a long-term security accord that would allow the United States to maintain a relatively small military presence in the country for training and counterterrorism operations after 2014. But President Hamid Karzai keeps slipping in new demands. Susan Rice, US national security advisor, “told Karzai that if he failed to sign the bilateral security agreement by the end of...

Iran Approaches a “Gorbachev Moment”

Robert A. Manning November 26, 2013
The United States and Iran have reached a historic interim accord that would limit sanctons and Iranian nuclear enrichment, subject to IAEA inspections. Iran confronts a transformative moment, explains Robert A. Manning of the Brent Snowcroft Center for International Security at the Atlantic Council. Western sanctions have contributed to high inflation, unemployment and other economic woes for...

Swiss Voters Reject High-Pay Initiative

Neil MacLucas November 26, 2013
Swiss leaders in government and business vehemently opposed a ballot initiative restricting executive salaries to no more than 12 times that of the lowest paid employee, suggesting the reduced wages would reduce foreign investment, job growth and Swiss competitiveness in recruiting corporate staff. Voters agreed, with two thirds soundly rejecting the measure. “Earlier this year, Swiss voters...

Time for the US and Iran to Act

Jamsheed K. Choksy November 21, 2013
Europe, Russia, China and the United States have pressed Iran for years to end a suspected nuclear weapons program. After years of harsh sanctions, Iran is engaging in serious negotiations under President Hassan Rouhani. “Only US pressure through economic sanctions and martial threats has made Iran face the reality that it won’t be permitted nuclear weapons,” explains Jamsheed Choksy, professor...

China Increases Aid to Philippines

Barbara Demick November 19, 2013
Global leadership is the ability to overlook small differences in the face of catastrophe and display generosity, along with the power of example and rapid response. China was subjected to sharp criticism at home and abroad, after initially offering $100,000 in aid to the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan, reports Barbara Demick for the Los Angeles Times. China has since increased aid to $1.64...

Two Schools of Thought on China – Both Wrong

Eric X. Li November 19, 2013
China’s Communist Party has concluded its Third Plenum, and analysts in the West scrutinize details, hoping to pinpoint the direction of the world’s largest emerging power. Two theories on China’s rise have dominated since 1989, and both are wrong, argues Eric X. Li, venture capitalist and political scientist, in an essay adapted from his lecture at the Oxford Union: The “imminent collapse”...

Turkey Seeks to Lock in Long-Term Security

Soner Cagaptay November 18, 2013
Turkey briefly tried isolation until the Arab Spring when it pivoted toward the United States: “The two nations worked with other countries to oust Moammar Gaddafi in Libya that year and, early on, coordinated policies against the Assad regime,” writes Soner Cagaptay. But the United States could not win UN Security Council approval for sanctions or intervention in Syria, due to vetoes from...