Is the United States really more secure if its neighbors view it as narrowly interested only in its own security? Do we want our nation’s reputation to be more about guns and less about helping to fight diseases and recover from natural disasters? Do we win good will and allies by being perceived as selfish? [...]

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. Welcome to budget season FY2012 — and FY2011. Adding to the usual budget chaos in Washington this time of year is not one, but two budgets. President Obama released his FY2012 budget request yesterday. Meanwhile Congress is still trying to settle FY2011 funding [...]

A few thousand people will gather today in Washington, D.C. to honor the life of ambassador Richard Holbrooke, one of the world’s finest diplomats, whose life ended suddenly one month ago. I was only exposed to a sliver of his life, but three years ago I experienced his diplomacy first hand. The ambassador was known [...]

This article was originally published in 2010 Summer Issue of the World Policy Journal edited by David Andelman. An original account of this incident first appeared as part of the Center of Islamic Pluralism’s Parliamentary Report A guide to Shariah Law and Islamist ideology in Western Europe 2007-2009. edited by Stephen Sulejman Schwartz LONDON — [...]

When I first arrived in Afghanistan, I spent much of my time swatting away flies that lived on my pediatric patients. Now I let them sit, unless they are on a baby’s face. Soon I think I will just ignore them, knowing that they are drooling multitudes of filthy bacteria on my patients. Shrug. I [...]