United States and Canada

Barack Obama’s Excellent Adventure

By David Smith

This is a marathon foreign policy week for US President Barack Obama.  The next six days will leave a bold imprint on how American foreign policy is perceived in the world, indeed, on what Obama can achieve during his term.

Economist Has Buyer’s Remorse on Obama

By James Joyner

The editorial board at The Economist (which apparently considers itself a “newspaper” despite coming out weekly in magazine format) praises President Obama for having “already done some commendable things” in the foreign policy arena but charges that, domestically, “His performance has been weaker than those who endorsed his candidacy, including this newspaper, had hoped.”

SCO Offers Neutral Venue for Engagement

By Lynn Roche

The Obama administration’s decision to sit in on next week’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) meeting in Moscow is a welcome sign of U.S. readiness to engage on many levels to deal with real world issues. 

US and Germany Sign Homeland Defense Technology Sharing Agreement

By James Joyner

The United States and Germany have agreed to share technologies related to homeland defense, in a first step toward a possible wider transatlantic framework. 

Obama Repeating Bush Mistakes in South Asia?

By James Joyner

Juan Cole, a leading historian of the Islamic world and fervent critic of the Bush administration’s policies, tells Harper‘s Scott Collins that he’s not so pleased with the Obama administration’s policies, either.

Pakistan Protests Bring Fear of Military Coup

By James Joyner

Top diplomats from the United States and the United Kingdom are trying to broker a deal between the government of Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari and chief opposition leader Nawaz Sharif amid fears that a string of protests could result in yet another military takeover.

Beyond Closing Guantanamo: Rebuilding a Transatlantic Partnership in International Law

In one of his first acts as president, Barack Obama signed an executive order closing the Guantanamo Bay prison camp within a year.  According to a new paper published by the Atlantic Council, Beyond Closing Guantanamo, this is a step in the right direction, but the new U.S. administration should undertake several additional measures aimed […]

Making Nice with Iran?

By Don Snow

In yet another example of the cascade of ways the Obama administration is abandoning the policies of its predecessor, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced last week the willingness of the Obama administration to talk directly to representatives of Iran. The vehicle for this change of policy was offering an invitation for Iran to attend […]

Power Transitions in U.S. and Iraq

By David Smith

“Congratulations, Mr. President.”  With those words from US Chief Justice John Roberts, Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States.  Under the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, this orderly transfer of power happened at 12 noon on January 20 — no sooner and no later.