Let's not blunder into another war

By Barry M. Blechman, Special to CNN updated 8:31 AM EDT, Thu May 23, 2013

(CNN) -- I was born 70 years ago this spring in the Bronx in New York City. In the years I've lived, more than 500,000 Americans have died and almost 1 million have been

Jerusalem -- Tensions have risen along Syria's now-volatile southern border with Israel after an exchange of artillery fire in the Golan Heights. The flare-up came as Syrian forces battled to regain control of the strategic border town of Qusayr inside Syria.

The Israel Defence

Federal News Radio's "In Depth" program hosted Russell Rumbaugh, who spoke on the pending cuts the Pentagon faces with sequestration in effect. From the show's blog:

Under sequestration, DoD will have to cut its previously planned spending by more than $500 billion over the next ten

U.S.-Soviet Model Urged For U.S.-China Space Cooperation

As China prepares for another launch to its Tiangong-1 mini-space station next month (illustration), political scientists with an interest in space policy see the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) as a model for bringing

Benefits eyed to pay for DoD's fiscal crisis

The Defense Department, already considering compensation and benefits cuts, can reduce its personnel costs further by eliminating overlapping programs and people, says a new report from the nonpartisan Stimson Center.

To read the fully

WASHINGTON - Senior US Defense Department officials are expected to present three budget-cutting scenarios to the defense secretary when they wrap up a wide-ranging review of military strategy at the end of this month, according to sources.

These officials, part of the Strategic

WASHINGTON -- A longtime expert on terrorism and nuclear arms is calling on the United States and others to identify fresh responses to a potential crisis in which a nation such as Pakistan or North Korea loses control over nuclear weapons or fissile material, without the West

686 presidential candidates try to succeed Ahmadinejad in Iran

(CNN) -- Hundreds of candidates are vying to become Iran's next president, with hopefuls ranging from friends to foes of current President

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Wednesday, May 15, 2013

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Food Fight

Why is the agricultural lobby so mad at Obama?

We can spend a lot of time (and I do) on the politics of the defense budget and the Iron Triangle that binds the Pentagon, the defense industry, and key members of Congress, making reform in the defense world difficult to

NPR's "Morning Edition" files a story on the Syrian peace initiative by the United States and Russia. Mona Yacoubian is quoted.

To hear the full segment, click here.

Stimson Center: DoD Could Trim $1 Trillion Without Eroding Combat Power

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon could save double the amount of cuts mandated under sequestration and avoid eroding its combat power, says a report released Monday.

The Washington-based Stimson Center projects the

Civil war and chemical weapons in Syria

Two years later, Syria is in the middle of a civil war-driven by ethnic, sectarian and regional conflicts. On one side-a disparate group of rebels united by their common goal of removing President Bashar Al-Assad from power.

On the other-a

On 10 June 2008, the SS Lien Ho set off from Taiwan. On board were 16 crew and deep-sea fishermen. It was set to fish the rich waters near what the crew would have called the Diaoyutai islands - a set of islets claimed by Japan, Taiwan and China. At some point in its operation,

Give Peace talks in Syria a chance

By Mona Yacoubian, Special to CNN updated 7:20 AM EDT, Fri May 10, 2013

(CNN) -- The recent call by the United States and Russia for an international conference on Syria offers the best chance for a peaceful resolution to the escalating conflict

Ahmadinejad shows no sign of going quietly

By Geneive Abdo, Special to CNN

Editor's note: Geneive Abdo is a fellow in the Middle East Program at the Stimson Center and a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution and  author of the recent paper The New Sectarianism.

As Iran's

What Does it Take to Cooperate? Transboundary Water Management Around the World

By Carolyn Lamere  / Monday, May 6, 2013

Water is the foundation of human society and will become even more critical as population growth, development, and climate change put pressure

'A Dilemma with Horns': Congress Steps Into Syria Fray

By Luke Jerod Kummer
Uploaded on April 26, 2013

Syria is engulfed in civil war and Congress has decided to step into the fray over whether to arm the opposition in an attempt to end a bloody two-year conflict that's gone

The Project on Defense Alternatives and Center for International Policy sponsored a conference titled 'Time to Reset Defense: Guidance for a More Effective and Affordable US Defense Posture,' at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Six panelists presented practical