US foreign policy news stories on Newser

Why Afghanistan Is a 'Fool's Errand'

Mark Russell — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 10:28:50 CDT

It's no surprise that US policies are failing in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, and around the region—they're completely missing what makes countries succeed, writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times . The key, according to a new book, Why Nations Fail , is developing "inclusive" economic and political institutions. Inclusive systems...

Romney: I'd Be Like Reagan on Iran

Kevin Spak — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:37:05 CST

Mitt Romney has an op-ed in today's Washington Post explaining how he'd deal with Iran. The answer? He'd do what Ronald Reagan would, rather than what the "feckless" Barack Obama is doing. In Romney's telling, the Iran hostage crisis ended because "the Iranians well understood that Reagan was serious about...

Time for US to Let the World Grow Up

Mark Russell — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 12:26:32 CST

Sure, the United States has the world's most powerful military. But President Obama's reluctance to use it is hardly a sign of pessimism or weakness, it's "realistic wisdom," writes Ian Buruma at al-Jazeera . "Old-fashioned military dominance is no longer adequate to promote US interests." Propping up dictators around the Middle...

First Lady’s Africa Trip Re-Ignites Criticism

Mark Russell — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 07:28:22 CDT

Michelle Obama's trip to southern Africa this week is giving new life to criticism that the Obama administration is overlooking the troubled continent, reports the Washington Post . The president has been to sub-Saharan Africa only once since taking office— a 24-hour trip to Ghana in 2009 —and critics say the...

Face It, Washington: Defense Budget Must Shrink

Matt Cantor — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:20:05 CDT

The latest budget compromise may have resulted in “sweeping” and “historic” cuts, as the White House, Congress, and the media have claimed—yet “not a solitary penny” was cut from defense spending. Instead, spending will break $700 billion in 2011, which happens to be a post-World War II record and...

Clinton Drove Obama Shift on Libya

Polly Davis Doig — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 08:52:19 CDT

President Obama came late to the decision to authorize military force against Libya , but he did so based on the counsel and efforts of Hillary Clinton, reports the New York Times . The secretary of state was herself against intervention until she secured buy-in from Arab nations; she then joined a...

Egyptian Youth to Clinton: Where Was the US?

John Johnson — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:22:56 CST

Egyptian protesters got a chance to speak directly to Hillary Clinton for the first time, and they weren't exactly overcome with gratitude. Sample questions she fielded online via an Egyptian site: "Does America really support democracy? If yes indeed, why the US was late in its support for the Egyptian...

US Foreign Policy in Arab World Needs Overhaul

Mark Russell — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 09:30:44 CST

With Hosni Mubarak finally out of power in Egypt, "It's a new day in the Arab world," writes Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times —and hopefully here, as well. "The truth is that the United States has been behind the curve not only in Tunisia and Egypt for the...

Palin: 3am Call 'Went Right to Answering Machine'

Mark Russell — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 05:52:28 CST

Just after pronouncing America "on the road to ruin," Sarah Palin weighed in on the White House's handling of the chaos in Egypt and neighboring countries in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network . "I'm not real enthused about what it is that that’s being done on a national level...