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This thread will discuss foreign affairs in general.

If a topic as in the case of Iran or North Korea becomes media intensive; then of course a special thread will be opened for that specific topic.

In the meantime, please feel free to post articles, links, urls and books related to this topic area.

Here is a wonderful series of podcasts put together by Foreign Affairs (Council on Foreign Relations) -Gideon Rose

There are some great books on foreign affairs, presidents, and other world topics reviewed in Foreign Affairs. Here is a link to some of these reviews:







Hope you find one of these books of interest.

Bentley

Here are some great articles published in FA categorized by issue, regions involved, topical areas and genre, feature articles









WHAT TO READ ON TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS:



WHAT TO READ ON THE MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS:



WHAT TO READ ON FIGHTING INSURGENCIES:



DISCUSSIONS:

This a the US State Department site; it has a wealth of information:



This is the Whitehouse url:

ALL MUSLIM POLITICS IS LOCAL:



This article cites the following book(s):




THE CRISIS OF ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION BY Ali A. Allawi (not showing up in Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ)

Common Threat, Collective Response: Protecting Against Terrorist Attacks in a Networked World (Video)

Speaker:
Janet Napolitano, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security

Presider:
Paul E. Steiger, Editor in Chief, ProPublica

Watch Janet Napolitano, U.S. secretary of homeland security, address the threat of networked terrorist organizations and the Department of Homeland Security's strategy to prevent and respond to them.



See more in Defense/Homeland Security, Immigration

Out of Mao's China:

Speaker:
Philip P. Pan, Moscow Bureau Chief, The Washington Post

Presider:
James F. Hoge Jr., Peter G. Peterson Chair and Editor, Foreign Affairs

Introductory Speaker:
Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations
June 26, 2009

Guest Event: 2009 Arthur Ross Book Award Out of Mao's Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China

New York Meeting: Muammar al-Qaddafi (Video)

Speaker: Muammar Al-Qaddafi, Leader and Guide of the Revolution, Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Presider: Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations
September 24, 2009

General Meeting: Muammar al-Qaddafi

Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi spoke at the New York office of the Council on Foreign Relations on September 24, discussing why Libya decided to give up its chemical and biological weapons program in 2003; his perspective on terrorism; and how he would respond if Iran develops a nuclear weapon.

Here are some of the points featured in his speech:

Abandoning the pursuit of chemical and biological weapons: "It used to be something to be proud of," Qaddafi said. "And we were part of the times." But after strategic consideration, Libyans realized it was "more threat to Libya than beneficial" to have such a program, he said.

Views on terrorism: "We have never supported terrorism," Qaddafi said.
Reacting to a possible Iranian nuclear weapon: "It goes without saying," Qaddafi insisted. "Libya would not support an Iran weapons program."

A Conversation with Viktor Yushchenko (Video)

Speaker: Viktor Yushchenko, President, Ukraine

Presider: Peter Ackerman, Managing Director, Rockport Capital, Inc.
September 21, 2009

General Meeting: A Conversation with Viktor Yushchenko

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko spoke at the New York office of the Council on Foreign Relations on September 21, discussing the future of Ukraine's relations with the United States, the European Union, and Russia.

Yushchenko outlined the key challenges straining Ukraine-Russia relations, and addressed U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to revamp missile defense plans for Eastern Europe.

Here are some of the points featured during the conversation:

Ukraine-Russia relations:

Referring to Ukraine's relations with Russia as not something to be proud of, Yushchenko elaborated on some of the issues he considers to be most sensitive, including territorial disputes and the absence of a clearly demarcated border between the two countries, the presence of the Russian Black Sea Navy in the Crimean Peninsula, and Ukraine's aspiration to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

U.S. missile defense revamp:

Yushchenko stressed that any deployment within the Polish or Czech territories is at their discretion, and supported every country's right to enhance its defense. He also cautioned that efforts to achieve pan-European and Euro-Atlantic security must be perceived correctly by all parties involved.

Meeting with His Excellency Lee Myung-bak (Video)

Speaker: Lee Myung-Bak, President, Republic of Korea

Presider: Robert E. Rubin, Co-Chairman, Council on Foreign Relations
September 21, 2009

General Meeting: Meeting with His Excellency Lee Myung-bak

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak spoke at the New York office of the Council on Foreign Relations on September 21, outlining the future of the U.S.-South Korea alliance and concerns about a nuclear North Korea. Lee called for the United States and South Korea to ratify the free trade agreement pending in the U.S. Congress. He also discussed South Korea's role in the upcoming G-20 summit and global climate negotiations.

Here are some of the points featured in his speech:

North Korea's Last Chance:

Lee called for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. He said the latest UN Security Council Resolution against Pyongyang would continue to be implemented even as the international community encourages North Korea to denuclearize. "North Korea is facing not a threat but an opportunity. North Korea must not throw away what may be their last chance," he said. He also stressed that the international community must change its traditional pattern of negotiating with Pyongyang, which until now had resulted in compensating North Korea for rescinding on its promises. He said the five parties within the six-party framework (excluding North Korea) must agree on an action plan toward complete dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear program. In return, he said, Pyongyang would receive a grand bargain: security assurances and international assistance.

Expanding the U.S.-South Korea Alliance:

Lee called for a sustained strategic partnership with the United States that went beyond security to cooperate on issues such as climate change, nonproliferation, and economy. He said trade between the United States and Korea has been "faltering a little bit in recent times," and called for both countries to ratify the pending free trade agreement.

A Bridging Role on Climate Change:

By the end of 2009 South Korea will announce a mitigation target for carbon emissions, said Lee. As a Non-Annex I country in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change treaty, South Korea does not have to commit to legally binding emission targets. But Lee said he hopes this measure will encourage other emerging economies and play a bridging role between the advanced and emerging economies split on the issue of emission targets.
G-20 and the Financial Crisis: Ahead of the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh on September 24-25, Lee said it's going to be very difficult for all the leaders at the forum to come to full agreement on financial regulatory reform. He stressed the importance of preparing for the post-crisis period, rebalancing global growth, and enacting reform of institutions such as the International Monetary Fund.

Achieving a Deal on Climate Change: A European Union View on Copenhagen (Video)

Speaker: José Manuel Barroso, President, European Commission

Presider: Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

September 21, 2009
General Meeting: Achieving a Deal on Climate Change: A European Union View on Copenhagen

Previewing Pittsburgh: The G20 and the Global Economy (Video)

Speakers: Edwin Truman, Senior Fellow, Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics

David Wessel, Economics Editor, The Wall Street Journal

Presider: Charles H. Dallara, Managing Director, Institute of International Finance, Inc.

September 18, 2009

UNITED STATES COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS:



US SENATE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

This is an interesting story on a hostage situation 40 years ago.

The Reuters correspondent Anthony Grey speaks to the BBC about being held hostage in China 40 years ago.

He was kidnapped during the cultural revolution and spent more than two years in an eight foot square cell.

Council on Foreign Relations:

Time to Talk to Iran:

Podcast:

The Significance of President Obama's Nobel"

You can register for a live webcast coming up on October 16th:


Pandemic Influenza: Science, Economics, and Foreign Policy (Agenda.)

Council on Foreign Relations

Here is the audio:



The video should be available on the Council on Foreign Relations site soon.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS;

WHAT TO READ ON RELIGION AND FOREIGN POLICY:



Source: Foreign Affairs
CHRIS SEIPLE is President of the Institute for Global Engagement and a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

US STRATEGY ON AFGHANISTAN:




Speaker:
John F. Kerry, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate (D-MA)

Presider: David E. Sanger, Chief Washington Correspondent, The New York Times

October 26, 2009

U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry [D-MA:] spoke at the Washington office of the Council on Foreign Relations on October 26, highlighting the array of U.S. policy challenges in Afghanistan.

Kerry stressed that defeating al-Qaeda remained at the center of U.S. mission in Afghanistan. He defined U.S. success in Afghanistan "as the ability to empower and transfer responsibility to Afghans as rapidly as possible and achieve a sufficient level of stability to ensure that we can leave behind an Afghanistan that is not controlled by al-Qaeda or the Taliban."

On the ongoing debate over whether or not the United States should send additional troops to Afghanistan, Kerry said the decision should rest on three conditions:

Are there enough reliable Afghan forces to partner with U.S. troops—and eventually to take over responsibility for security?

Are there local leaders we can partner with?

Is the civilian side ready to follow swiftly with development aid that brings tangible benefits to the local population?

Kerry also emphasized the need to devote more U.S. attention to stabilizing Pakistan, where al-Qaeda's main leadership is based.

He said "if we want to reduce the need for additional boots on the ground over the long-haul, it is vitally important that we support, that we intensify even, our support and improve our cooperation with Pakistan."

There are two videos available; including the full length talk as well as highlights.

Source: Council on Foreign Relations

Although this is not a directly related thread, Iraq and Afghanistan makes me want to read the book, The Philippine War, 1899-1902. Like the Brits in South Africa, we got ourselves into a civil war in the Philippines and it was ugly.

Thank you Bryan for that connection. It is odd how some of these skirmishes and side wars, Americans know very little about.

This presentation was made on NOVEMBER 4, 2009 (Council on Foreign Relations - video of presentation available):

C. Peter McColough Series on International Economics: Fiscal Irresponsibility Clouds the Future of the United States (Video)

Speaker:
Richard A. Posner, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals; Senior Lecturer, University of Chicago Law School

Presider:
Tim Ferguson, Editor, Forbes Asia
November 4, 2009

General Meeting:
C. Peter McColough Series on International Economics:Fiscal Irresponsibility Clouds the Future of the United States



Source: Council on Foreign Relations

An interesting open free course on the following:

HARVARD OPEN COURSES:

Islam and America: Islamic Scholars Respond

So this I assume is the Afganistan tread - I have not followed it but this op-ed in today's NY times could be of interest to some:

November 8, 2009
Op-Ed Contributor
Back From War, but Not Really Home
By CAROLINE ALEXANDER
Holderness, N.H.

WASHED onto the shores of his island home, after 10 years� absence in a foreign war and 10 years of hard travel in foreign lands, Odysseus, literature’s most famous veteran, stares around him: “But now brilliant Odysseus awoke from sleep in his own fatherland, and he did not know it,/having been long away.� Additionally, the goddess Athena has cast an obscuring mist over all the familiar landmarks, making “everything look otherwise/than it was.� “Ah me,� groans Odysseus, “what are the people whose land I have come to this time?�

That sense of dislocation has been shared by veterans returning from the field of war since Homer conjured Odysseus� inauspicious return some 2,800 years ago. Its vexing power was underscored on Thursday, when a military psychiatrist who had been treating the mental scars of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan went on a shooting rampage at an Army base in Texas.

Who is the veteran, and how does he stand in relation to his native land and people? This question remains relevant to those marching in parades this week for Veterans Day in the United States and Armistice Day in Europe, as well as to the ever-diminishing number of spectators who applaud them. In theory, Veterans Day celebrates an event as starkly unambiguous as victory � survival. In practice, Nov. 11 is clouded with ambiguous symbolism, and has become our most awkward holiday.

The great theme of “The Odyssey� � the return of the war veteran to his home � is the only surviving, and undoubtedly the greatest, epic example of what was evidently a popular theme in ancient times. Another poem, now lost, “Nostoi,� or “Returns,� was an epic of uncertain authorship that was said to have encompassed five books and traced the homecomings of veterans of the Trojan War like the Greek commander in chief, Agamemnon; his brother, Menelaus; the aged counselor Nestor, the priest Calchas, the hero Diomedes and even Achilles� son, Neoptolemos.

The Greek word nostos, meaning “return home,� is the root of our English “nostalgia� (along with algos � “pain� or “sorrow�). The content and character of “Nostoi� is now impossible to gauge; all we know of it comes from a late, possibly fifth-century A.D. summary and stray fragments. Some of the most famous of these traditional veterans� stories, however, have survived in later, non-epic works.

Aeschylus� towering tragedy “Agamemnon,� staged in 458 B.C., centers on the king’s return from Troy to his palace in Argos, where he is murdered in his bath by his wife, Clytemnestra. Virgil’s “Aeneid� famously relates the travails of the heroic Trojan veteran Aeneas, who, following the destruction of his city by the Greek victors, must make a new home in some other, foreign land.

But it is “The Odyssey� that most directly probes the theme of the war veteran’s return. Threaded through this fairytale saga, amid its historic touchstones, are remarkable scenes addressing aspects of the war veteran’s experience that are disconcertingly familiar to our own age. Odysseus returns home to a place he does not recognize, and then finds his homestead overrun with young men who have no experience of war. Throughout his long voyage back, he has reacted to each stranger with elaborate caginess, concocting stories about who he is and what he has seen and done � the real war he keeps to himself.

Midway through the epic, Odysseus relates to a spellbound audience how, in order to obtain guidance for the voyage ahead, it was necessary to descend to Hades. There, among the thronging souls of men and women dead and past, he confronted his comrades of the war � Agamemnon, Achilles, Patroclus, Antilochus and Ajax � robust heroes of epic tales now reduced to unhappy shades who haunt his story.

Similarly, while Odysseus is lost at sea, his son, Telemachus, embarks on a voyage of discovery, also seeking out his father’s former comrades, but those who lived to return. First of these is old Nestor, a veteran of many campaigns, now at home in sandy Pylos. No mortal man could “tell the whole of it,� says Nestor of the years at Troy, where “all who were our best were killed.� In Sparta, Menelaus, whose wife, Helen, was the cause of the war, is haunted by the losses: “I wish I lived in my house with only a third part of all/these goods, and that the men were alive who died in those days/in wide Troy land.�

Odysseus� own memories are more potent. Amongst the kindly Phaiakians, who give him hospitality toward the end of his hard voyage, he listens to the court poet sing of the Trojan War’s “famous actions/of men on that venture.� Odysseus, taking his mantle in his hands, “drew it over his head and veiled his fine features/shamed for the tears running down his face.�

And most significantly, epic tradition hints at the dilemmas of military commemoration. In “The Iliad,� Achilles must choose between kleos or nostos � glory or a safe return home. By dying at Troy, Achilles was assured of undying fame as the greatest of all heroes. His choice reflects an uneasy awareness that it is far easier to honor the dead soldier than the soldier who returns. Time-tested and time-honored, the commemoration rites we observe each Memorial Day � the parades and speeches and graveside prayers and offerings � represent a satisfying formula of remembrance by the living for the dead that was already referred to as “ancient custom� by Thucydides in the fifth century B.C.

The commemoration of the veteran � the survivor who did not fall on the field of war � is less starkly defined. The returned soldier, it is hoped, will grow old and die among us, like Nestor, in whose time “two generations of mortal men had perished.� In our own times, the generation born in the optimistic aftermath of World War II has already encountered veterans of both world wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf war and our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq � and still has several decades of martial possibilities in reserve. As the earlier of those wars recede into the past, their old soldiers fade away; and thus, commemorative rites for the veteran � by definition, the survivor � also tend to end, perversely, at graves.

How to commemorate the living veteran? Again, some guidance can be found in epic, the crucible of heroic mores. Old Nestor, the iconographic veteran, is a teller of many tales of the many battles he once waged. “In my time I have dealt with better men than/you are, and never once did they disregard me,� he tells the entire Greek army in “The Iliad.� “I fought single-handed, yet against such men no one/could do battle.� Although he is a somewhat comic figure, his speeches are deadly earnest; Old Nestor knows that his is the only voice to keep memory of such past campaigns alive.

One suspects such lengthy recitations are rare today. Rarer still is the respectful audience enjoyed by Nestor; impatience with such reminiscences began well before our age. “Menelaus bold/waxed garrulous, and sacked a hundred Troys/’Twixt noon and supper,� wrote Rupert Brooke, cynically, during the years leading up to a later Great War.

Today, veterans� tales are more likely to be safeguarded in books and replicated in movies than self-narrated to a respectful throng. Detailed knowledge of the experience in which a veteran’s memories were forged is thus made common. To learn these stories is both civilian duty and commemoration. Death on the field and the voyage home � both are epic.

Caroline Alexander is the author of “The Endurance,� “The Bounty� and, most recently, “The War That Killed Achilles: The True Story of Homer’s ‘Iliad� and the Trojan War.�

Why 1989? The Fall of the Berlin Wall and the End of the Cold War (Video)

Speakers:

Archie Brown, Professor Emeritus of Politics and Emeritus Fellow, St. Antony’s College, Oxford University; Author, The Rise and Fall of Communism

Michael R. Meyer, Director of Communications, Executive Office of the Secretary-General, United Nations; Author, The Year that Changed the World: The Untold Story Behind the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Romesh M. Ratnesar, Deputy Managing Editor, Time Magazine; Author, Tear Down this Wall: A City, A President, and the Speech that Ended the Cold War

Presider: Peter L.W. Osnos, Founder and Editor-at-Large, PublicAffairs
November 11, 2009

General Meeting: Why 1989? The Fall of the Berlin Wall and the End of the Cold War



Source: Council on Foreign Relations


Archie Brown

Michael Meyer

Romesh Ratnesar

Turning our attention to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict...I do sympathize with President Obama's frustration with Israel. Why are they doing this if they ever hope to have peace with their neighbors? Not that I do not see their point in being upset with all of the missles being sent their way...but building MORE settlements on land that could easily pave the way for a Palestinian state finally is insanity. It seems to me that it makes things that much more difficult. What are the group's thoughts?

The World Next Week podcast:

New Books Highlighted:

Jeffrey A. Engel

David Priestland

Stephen Kotkin

Constantine Pleshakov

Victor Sebestyen

[image error] Mary Elise Sarotte

Mitterrand, the End of the Cold War, and German Unification by
Frederic Bozo

Obama's Foreign Engagement Scorecard:

The World Next Week Podcast - December 18th:

Brazil judge: Boy must be returned to U.S. dad
Ruling moves David Goldman step closer to reunification with son

Council on Foreign Relations:

The Sovereign Debt Dilemma:

Rebalancing and Reforming Defense: Quadrennial Defense Review 2010 (Video)

Speaker: Michele Flournoy, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, U.S. Department of Defense

Presider: Thomas D. Shanker, Pentagon and National Security Correspondent, The New York Times
February 2, 2010

General Meeting: Rebalancing and Reforming Defense: Quadrennial Defense Review 2010



Source: Council on Foreign Relations

Global Economic Trends: A Conversation with Joseph E. Stiglitz (Video)

Speaker: Joseph E. Stiglitz, University Professor, Columbia University; Author, Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy

Presider: Steven R. Weisman, Editorial Director and Public Policy Fellow, Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics
January 21, 2010

General Meeting: Global Economic Trends: A Conversation with Joseph E. Stiglitz



Source: Council on Foreign Relations

Cuba in the Twenty-First Century (Video)

Speakers: Carlos A. Saladrigas, Co-Chairman, Cuba Study Group; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Regis Human Resources Group

Julia E. Sweig, Nelson and David Rockefeller Senior Fellow and Director for Latin America Studies, Council on Foreign Relations; Author, Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know

Presider: Donna J. Hrinak, Senior Director, Latin America Government Affairs, PepsiCo, Inc.

January 21, 2010
General Meeting: Cuba in the Twenty-First Century



Source: Council on Foreign Relations

Open Labs, Open Minds: Breaking Down the Barriers to Innovation and Access to Medicines in the Developing World (Video)

GLOBAL HEALTH SERIES

Speaker: Andrew Witty, Chief Executive Officer, GlaxoSmithKline

Presider: Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran, Correspondent, Economist
January 20, 2010

General Meeting: Open Minds, Open Labs: Breaking Down the Barriers to Innovation and Access to Medicines in the Developing World

This session was part of the Corporate Program's CEO Speaker series.



Source: Council on Foreign Relations

Charles A. Kupchan

[image error] Dan Senor

[image error] Nasr Vali

This is the podcast available from Foreign Affairs: (02/12/10)

The World Next Week Podcast: February 19, 2010

The World Next Week Podcast: March 5, 2010

China says Google breaks promise, totally wrong to stop censoring



Clinton speaks on censorship on the Internet:

Nigeria in Turmoil:



Speakers:
John Campbell, Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies, Council on Foreign Relations; Former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria

Bennett Freeman, Senior Vice President, Sustainability Research and Policy, Calvert Investments; Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State
Peter M. Lewis, Associate Professor and Director, African Studies Program, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University

Presider:
Carol J. Lancaster, Associate Professor, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

March 19, 2010

General Meeting: Nigeria in Turmoil

Turkey Update: A Discussion on Turkey’s Foreign Policy (Video)

Speakers:

Henri J. Barkey, Visiting Scholar, Middle East Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Bernard L. and Bertha F. Cohen Professor of International Relations, Lehigh University

Hugh Pope, Turkey/Cyprus Project Director, International Crisis
Group; Author, Dining with al-Qaeda: Three Decades Exploring the Many Worlds of the Middle East

Presider: William Drozdiak, President, American Council on Germany

March 30, 2010

General Meeting: Turkey Update: A Discussion on Turkey's Foreign Policy

The World Next Week Podcast: (Foreign Affairs)

Podcast:

Council on Foreign Relations:

Kyrgyzstan Needs Return To Democratic Path

Interviewee: Evan A. Feigenbaum, Senior Fellow for East, Central, and South Asia, Council on Foreign Relations

Interviewer: Jayshree Bajoria, Staff Writer, CFR.org

April 9, 2010




Synopsis:

A brief, violent uprising in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan has left dozens of people dead and forced President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to flee the capital. Opposition forces led by former foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva have declared a new interim government that dissolved the parliament and announced plans to hold power for six months. Events remain fluid as Bakiyev, hiding in the country's south, refused to resign.

CFR Senior Fellow Evan A. Feigenbaum, a former deputy assistant secretary for South and Central Asia at the State Department, says the recent events reflect "widespread dissatisfaction" with the Bakiyev government. A combination of factors--poor governance, corruption, concerns over economic and political conditions alongside political maneuvering among elites--contributed to the anger that led to the overthrow of the government, he says. The fundamental challenge facing the interim government, "is to restore and sustain order but then set the country back on a path to democracy." Feigenbaum says the international community, including Russia, China, and the United States, must urge the new government on this path.

Kyrgyzstan is strategically important to Washington; it houses a U.S. military base at Manas--now a transit center--vital to its operations in Afghanistan. Feigenbaum says the base has served as a "political football in Kyrgyz politics for quite some time," but doubts the new government will close it. On Russia's role in the recent events, he says, "whatever influence external powers may or may not have, let's not forget that ultimately this is about the Kyrgyz people and about Kyrgyz politics."

A Conversation with Ahmet Davutoglu (Video)

Speaker: Ahmet Davutoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Turkey

Presider: Marc Grossman, Vice Chairman, The Cohen Group; Public Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

April 14, 2010

Guest Event: A Conversation with Ahmet Davutoglu



Source: Council on Foreign Relations

Overpowered?

Questioning the Wisdom of American Restraint

By Michael Mandelbaum
May/June 2010


For Jack Matlock, Giulio Gallarotti, and Christopher Preble, the authors of three new books about power and U.S. foreign policy, the essence of "the power problem" is that the United States has too much of it. But the era in which U.S. foreign policy could be driven in counterproductive directions by an excess of power is in the process of ending.

Jack F. Matlock

Giulo M. Gallarotti

Christopher A. Preble

"Money can't buy happiness," the old saying goes, and anyone who doubts that this is sometimes true should conduct a Google search for "lottery winners horror stories." He or she will find accounts of people for whom a great financial windfall led to misery, bankruptcy, and even suicide. In international relations, power is the equivalent of money -- highly desired, actively sought, and eagerly used. The theme of three new books about power and U.S. foreign policy is that as with money, so with power: a great deal of it does not necessarily bring success.

It can even have the opposite effect. Powerful countries can and do carry out foreign policies that fail, making them less prosperous, less respected, and, ultimately, less powerful. In each of the books, the prime example of the dangers of power, the equivalent of the lottery winners destroyed by riches, is the United States during the George W. Bush administration. For all three authors, the essence of what Christopher Preble calls "the power problem" is that the United States has too much of it.

Each author advocates a foreign policy different from the one Bush conducted. Each calls for more modest aims and wider international cooperation. And although each severely criticizes the Bush administration, all find evidence of the drawbacks of power in the policies of other administrations and in the histories of other countries as well. The three books have another important feature in common: each is backward-looking. Although they do not seem to recognize it, the era in which U.S. foreign policy could be driven in counterproductive directions by an excess of power is in the process of ending.



Source: Foreign Affairs Magazine

This is an interesting overview on this book:

Isobel Coleman

Excerpt from review:

Overview

"Over the centuries and throughout the world, women have struggled for equality and basic rights. Their challenge in the Middle East has been intensified by the rise of a political Islam that too often condemns women’s empowerment as Western cultural imperialism or, worse, anti-Islamic. In Paradise Beneath Her Feet, Isobel Coleman shows how Muslim women and men are fighting back with progressive interpretations of Islam to support women’s rights in a growing movement of Islamic feminism.

Complete Review:

Warren Christopher on how Obama is doing on Foreign Policy: