Department of State Commentary

Whose Reagan?

"General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr.

Sometimes the CIA is Right

With the CIA under fire once again—this time for pre-9/11 failures—it is also important to know what the agency got right. Its assessments of post-Saddam Iraq were dead-on and deserve attention.

Paradigm Lost

Thirty-five years after the ABM Treaty, balistic missiles remain crucial the U.S.-Russian ties. But the relationship has changed dramatically over the years in ways both sides should recognize.

How Empty is the Glass?

Can the stalled Israel-Palestinian peace process move forward?

Remembering Yeltsin

When it comes to the legacy of Boris Yeltsin, the official encomia do not echo most Russians’ attitudes towards the late president.

Moscow, We Have a Problem

If the end result in 2008 is for Russia to be more prosperous but to have simply traded one group of “the powerful” who are unaccountable and operate above the law for another, that may not be the legacy Putin is looking to leave behind.

Revisiting Iran?

On Tuesday the United States’ agreed to join in talks with Iran and Syria on Iraq’s future. The following are excerpts from The Grammercy Round, titled “Revisiting Iran?”, in the forthcoming March/April issue of The National Interest

Courting the Saudis-and Catastrophe

To fully appreciate President Bush’s recent addresses to the nation one must follow the footsteps of his vice president—to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Don't Compare Iraq to Vietnam

As tempting as the comparison may be, America’s involvement in Iraq has followed a starkly different trajectory than its previous misadventure in Vietnam.

The Transatlantic Dialogue in The National Interest

The transatlantic dialogue remains one of the premier issues for discussion in the pages of The National Interest and its weekly online supplement, In the National Interest.

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May 18, 2013