InternationalCommentary
Obama Does Not Have the Authority to Lift Embargo on Cuba
Cuba’s release of American hostage Alan Gross is to be welcome. Gross has vegetated in a Cuban jail for five years for the crime of… Read More
InternationalNews
US and Cuba Swap Prisoners; Obama Ends Isolation Policy
The Cuban government today freed American contractor Alan Gross after five years of captivity, in a negotiated agreement that signals an overhaul in U.S. policy… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Putin’s Long Game
Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to have picked a bad time to try to restore the Russian empire. Collapsing energy prices are weakening the value… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Children Repatriated by China and Laos May Have Been Executed or Imprisoned
In 2013, Laos and China forcibly repatriated nine North Korean children. Now, the fate of these children is in question. Recent reports from North Korea… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Could the Nicaragua Canal Project Bring Russia Back to Central America?
Following a unanimous vote in the National Assembly’s Infrastructure Committee, Nicaraguan officials have begun preparations for the so-called Interoceanic Grand Canal, which will connect to… Read More
InternationalCommentary
China’s Pyrrhic Victory in Hong Kong Will Come Back to Haunt It
Cars began transiting through Hong Kong’s Admiralty district overnight for the first time in 75 days, as police finally brought an end to that city’s… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Obama Administration Should Sanction Iran, Not Israel
It is no secret that the Obama administration has a tense relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu due to sharp differences on key foreign… Read More
InternationalSecurityCommentary
North Korea Cyber Attack on Sony—No Evidence, but Plenty of Capabilities
The FBI declared on December 9 that there is “no attribution to North Korea at this point” of the massive cyber attack on Sony Pictures… Read More
InternationalSocietyCommentary
A Day to Remember Those in Asia Persecuted for Their Faith
Today, Human Rights Day, countless individuals in Asia are facing immense religious persecution. The Pew Forum for Religion and Public Life found that religious hostilities… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Putin May Have Just Lost One of His Best Friends: Angela Merkel
“Saturday Night Live” often acts as a good barometer of what’s going on in the world. Last week, its opening sketch nailed just how grumpy… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Time to Leave Behind ‘Leading from Behind’: A Way Forward on Foreign Policy
For the American left and its allies in the major media, Barack Obama’s resounding victory in the 2008 presidential race was supposed to mark a… Read More
InternationalCommentary
China Just Broke Another Promise. Can One Country, Two Systems Be Saved?
Demands by Hong Kong’s people for the autonomy and freedom that China promised has gotten Beijing’s autocrats into such a tizzy that they’re losing sight… Read More
InternationalSecurityCommentary
Boko Haram: Nigeria’s Ongoing Insurgency
On November 28, the terrorist group Boko Haram attacked a mosque in Kano, a city in northern Nigeria, killing more than 100 people according to… Read More
InternationalSecurityCommentary
U.S. Should Support NATO Membership for Georgia
On November 15, a crowd of 30,000 Georgian protestors took to the streets of Tbilisi to protest Russian policies in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Congress Should Not Lamely Duck a Fight over the IMF Reform Package
Rumors are swirling that the Obama Administration could try to push the International Monetary Fund (IMF) “reform package” through the lame duck Congress. As they… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Russia Intimidating Religious Groups in Ukraine
Remember the KGB? According to Canada’s ambassador for religious freedom, Andrew Bennett, Russia is back to its old tricks of intimidation—specifically in Crimea and eastern… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Hong Kong Police Dismantle Protest Site
With the world no longer looking in so intently, police in Hong Kong overnight swept in and cleared one of the largest protest spots in… Read More
InternationalCommentary
5 Problems with the Nuclear Talks with Iran
The Obama administration was forced to punt once again at the talks on Iran’s nuclear program when the Iranians refused to budge on their maximal… Read More
InternationalSecurityCommentary
Those Who Confront Death
The Kurdish people are often described as the largest ethnic group in the world without a nation-state; nevertheless, they have greatly influenced regional events—most recently… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Nearly Two-Thirds of Human Trafficking Victims Are from Asia
The 2014 Global Slavery Index (GSI) found that there are nearly 36 million victims of human trafficking worldwide. Of that, 36 million, nearly two-thirds, are… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Democratic Reform in Cambodia Uncertain
At least 15 social and political activists were arrested in Cambodia in yet another attempt by the Hun Sen government to silence dissent. The incident… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Japan Falls into Recession
Japan’s economy contracted by 1.6 percent annually between July and September, according to preliminary results released Sunday night. Following a second-quarter contraction of 7.3 percent,… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Mexico and Mass Disappearances: The Case of the 43 Missing Students
Following the disappearance and alleged murder of 43 students in Mexico, widespread protests have engulfed many Mexican cities. In late September, the students were abducted… Read More
InternationalCommentary
International Broadcasting Reform Overdue: Dissident Slams VOA Broadcasts to China
Chinese dissident Wei Jinsheng blasted U.S. broadcasting to China, offering yet one more reason for Congress to put broadcasting reform back on the table when… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Why Asia’s Economic Miracle May Be Ending
Historically, economics has often driven the narrative surrounding presidential visits to Asia. Consider President Obama’s 2009 trip to China in the midst of the global… Read More
InternationalSecurityCommentary
U.S. Nuclear Deterrence: Reality vs. Fantasy
The post–Cold War world continues to provide the U.S. with a myriad of dynamic threats, from Iran’s increased aspirations to acquire nuclear weapons capability to… Read More
InternationalSecurityCommentary
Diplomat and Scholar David M. Abshire Leaves Behind a Vital Legacy
On October 31, the Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress announced the passing of public servant and scholar David M. Abshire. Ambassador… Read More
InternationalCommentary
On Hong Kong, Bipartisanship Works
President Obama may be poisoning the well with his executive action on immigration, but in at least one area there was welcome bipartisan comity in… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Obama (Probably) Just Made a Military Deal With the Chinese. We Have the Details.
What’s the takeaway from President Obama’s meetings with Chinese president Xi-Jinping? While the Obama administration has been trumpeting an agreement by both sides to limit… Read More
InternationalCommentary
The Problem with Japan’s “Womenomics”
On October 20, two female ministers in Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet, Yuko Obuchi and Midori Matsushima, resigned over alleged improper use of campaign… Read More
