Mumbai
Understanding the Mumbai Attacks
With the death toll from the Mumbai attacks exceeding 170 and hundreds more wounded, India is reeling from its worst terrorist violence in decades. Ashley J. Tellis provides insight on the possible motivations of the terrorists, what these attacks reveal about India's security apparatus, and the implications for relations between India, Pakistan, and the United States.- Mumbai Attacks:
- Who is Behind the Violence (CNN Fareed Zakaria GPS)
- A New Group of Targets (PBS Newshour)
- Indian Security (NPR All Things Considered)
IAEA
U.S. Nuclear Policy
The IAEA board of governors met last week to discuss Syria and Iran’s alleged nuclear programs. George Perkovich recommends the United States give Iran one last, time-limited chance to negotiate the suspension of its fuel-cycle-related activities and show Iran’s leaders that the more they advance enrichment capabilities, the less valuable cessation of those activities becomes for negotiating incentives. Rose Gottemoeller calls for renewed U.S.-Russian cooperation on arms control. Deepti Choubey offers a step-by-step approach to engage states without nuclear weapons to help rebuild the dangerously damaged nonproliferation regime.Guantánamo
What to do with Guantánamo's Detainees
Closing the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo would be a major symbolic achievement, but President-elect Obama needs to re-think the “war on terror” from the ground-up. Christopher Boucek explains that the next administration should learn from Saudi Arabia’s approach, which includes both traditional security and law enforcement efforts to kill or capture terrorists and detainee rehabilitation programs that combat the ideological justifications for violent extremism within the kingdom.Economy
Lessons from the Global Financial Crisis
Leaders from the G-20 countries met in Washington recently to discuss the global economic crisis. The inclusion of countries like China, India, and Brazil in these talks points to an important redistribution of economic power beyond the traditional industrialized nations. Albert Keidel explains how China's historic decision to fund a $600 billion domestic stimulus package provides a road map for future U.S. policy. David Rothkopf argues that President-elect Obama will need to promote stronger multilateral institutions to govern global markets.- Financial Crisis Fallout:
- China's Stimulus Lesson for America (Web Commentary)
- G20 Summit in Context (Newsweek)
- Understanding the Redistribution of Economic Influence (Telegraph)
Iran
How to Talk With Iran
Iran continues to be a critical national security challenge for the United States, despite decades of effort to change Tehran's behavior by isolating the country politically and economically. In a new policy brief, Karim Sadjadpour explains that the relevant question is not whether to talk with Iran but how. He prioritizes U.S. engagement with Iran on six critical issues: Iraq, Afghanistan, nuclear proliferation, the Arab—Israeli conflict, energy, and terrorism.Kuwait’s Political Crisis
Kuwait’s cabinet resigned Tuesday over a standoff with parliament, which could lead to the dissolution of the government and new elections for the third time in as many years. Nathan Brown explains that tensions between the ruling family and parliament may have serious implications for the broader Middle East as "other countries in the region are coming to see Kuwait as a negative model of what democracy can result in."
Kuwaiti Politics:
Kuwait’s Parliamentary Elections: A Setback for Democratic Islamism? (Commentary)
Islamist Political Parties in Kuwait and Morocco (Event)
Stabilizing Afghanistan: Threats and Challenges
Stability in Afghanistan and the future of its government depend on the United States and its Afghan and other allies providing security for the Afghan people. William Maley warns that calls for an Iraq-style "troop surge" ignore the immediate need for a comprehensive political strategy to fix Afghanistan's fragile security structure, dysfunctional system of government, and unstable borders.Challenges in Afghanistan:
NATO and Afghanistan: Saving the State-Building Enterprise
Afghanistan: UN Special Representative Addresses Priorities
Foreign Policy for the Next President
Next January, the new U.S. President will be confronted with the longest list of severe challenges any president has faced in decades. Prioritizing among them will be even more important than usual. In its new series, "Foreign Policy for the Next President", the Carnegie Endowment’s experts endeavor to do just that. They separate good ideas from dead ends and go beyond widely agreed goals to describe how to achieve them.
More on this series ►-
Stabilizing Afghanistan: Threats and Challenges
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Nuclear Renaissance: Is It Coming? Should It?
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Russian–American Security Relations After Georgia
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Iran Says “No”—Now What?
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Engaging Pakistan—Getting the Balance Right
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Asia—Shaping the Future
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Is a League of Democracies a Good Idea?
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Sunset for the Two-State Solution?
Saudi Arabia’s Successful Counterterrorism Strategy
Saudi Arabia’s increasing use of unconventional, “soft” measures to combat violent extremism is bearing positive results and leading others in the region, including the United States in Iraq, to adopt a similar approach. Christopher Boucek explains that understanding the successes of the Saudi strategy—composed of prevention, rehabilitation, and aftercare programs—will be important in the fight against radical Islamist extremism. Saudi Counterterrorism:
Courts Open New Chapter in Counter-Terrorism
A Solution to Detaining Foreign Nationals?
Women in Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood Push for Change
Islamist women, increasingly restless with their subordinate status in Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, are pushing for greater representation and a wider role. Omayma Abdel-Latif explores the growing impact of young leaders and female activists and examines what type of change is possible, despite major obstacles.Muslim Brotherhood:
Toward an Islamist Model of Women's Activism
The Muslim Brotherhood's Party Platform
Can Syria and Israel Be Serious About Peace?
Syria and Israel have reached the threshold of signing a peace agreement twice in the past twelve years. An agreement between the two countries would have a transformative effect on a number of states and issues in the Middle East. Paul Salem explained at a recent Carnegie event how the next U.S. administration can devise a strategy that would maximize the chances of a Syrian-Israeli breakthrough while guarding against the pitfalls of appeasement or failure.Middle East Peace:
Hope in the Levant
The Middle East: Evolution of a Broken Regional Order
Sunset for the Two-State Solution
A New Vision - Pioneering the Global Think Tank (click here to learn more)
Highlights from our centers
Gates: Nuclear Weapons and Deterrence in the 21st Century
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, speaking at Carnegie last month, cautioned that the United States cannot maintain a credible nuclear deterrent without testing or modernizing its aging stockpile. Gates stressed that the nuclear weapons complex must be transformed into a "less costly but modern enterprise that can meet our nation's nuclear security needs for the future."
Afghanistan and the Transatlantic Community
At a time when U.S. strategy toward Afghanistan is under intense review in Washington, the European community faces important questions about its future engagement in the region.
Russia, India, and Chinese Cooperation
As the Russian, Indian, and Chinese economies advance, the West must engage with all three in an attempt to expand their foreign policy outlooks beyond narrow national interests and toward broader participation in the international community.
U.S.-Iraq Security Pact: Implications and Meanings
The Iraqi Parliament approved the security agreement with the U.S. that would allow troops to stay in the country until 2011. Middle East experts discuss the implications of the agreement on Iraq's political future and on U.S. policy in the region.
A New Beginning: American Foreign Policy Under a New Administration
Many in Asia have assessed Barack Obama's presidential victory as a mandate for a more thoughtful, engaging American foreign policy. Carnegie experts highlight a number of opportunities for engagement, including coordination to minimize the global recession, warming PRC-Taiwan relations, Chinese military modernization, and the conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
