Politics does not stop at the water’s edge in the United States. Don’t believe me? Check out the latest Gallup poll. It asked Americans whether they are satisfied with the country’s role in the world. Democrats and Republicans offer decidedly different answers to that question.  Read more »

“Don’t Tread on Me.” “Remember the Alamo!” “Fifty-four Forty or Fight!” “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” “Nuts!” The history of American foreign policy is full of pithy declarations that capture the country’s determination at pivotal moments in its history. Today marks the 114^th anniversary of one such declaration: “Remember the Maine!” Read more »

Xi Jinping visits the White House today. One of the topics on the agenda is the future of Chinese investment in the United States. It may sound like a pedestrian topic, but it has the potential to be politically explosive. Read more »

Last week President Obama held a science fair at the White House. More than 100 students showed up. So too did Bill Nye the science guy. The student-crafted projects ranged from a new cancer therapy to a marshmallow cannon. Read more »

Above the Fold. The hot topic in Washington this weekend—assuming that the rumor of Kim Jong Un’s assassination is just that—is the upcoming Valentine’s Day meeting between President Obama and Xi Jinping, China’s vice president. Why all the buzz about a vice president? Because this one is expected to succeed Hu Jintao later this year as China’s leader. Read more »

The World Next Week podcast is up. Bob McMahon and I discussed the Obama administration’s FY 2013 budget; the Senate Armed Services Committee’s upcoming hearing on worldwide threats; Chinese Vice President Xi Jingping’s visit to the United States; and the one-year anniversary of Hosni Mubarak’s ouster from power. Read more »

What if you want to give foreign aid but the intended beneficiaries say they don’t want it?

That’s the dilemma the Obama administration faces right now in the Middle East. Two weeks ago, the State Department announced it planned to provide “more immediate benefits” to the Egyptian people. Washington would redirect non-urgent aid originally earmarked for other countries to Egypt to fund quick-impact projects. The idea is to help the most populous and influential country in the Arab world make the difficult transition from autocratic rule to a successful and prospering democracy. Read more »

Above the Fold. The rhetoric on Iran certainly heated up this week. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta noted ominously on Sunday “if we have to do it, we will do it” when asked what the United States would do if the Iranians crossed America’s red line with their nuclear program. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that Iranian leaders  “have changed their calculus and are now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States in response to real or perceived U.S. actions that threaten the regime.” And Israeli Defense Minister told participants in the annual Herzliya Conference yesterday that the time for stopping Iran’s nuclear program was fast running out, adding “whoever says ‘later’ may found that later is too late.” So is the clock about to run out on sanctions?  Probably not. Keep in mind the old saying that if you want peace, prepare for war. Both the United States and Israel have ample reason to talk tough right now–it increases the pressure on Iran’s critics to make the sanctions stick, thereby increasing the pressure on Tehran to negotiate. Meanwhile, Iran has paired its tough talk over the Strait of Hormuz with a willingness to allow IAEA inspectors to return later in the month for a second round of talks. This could signal that a negotiated deal might be possible, though, the wiser bet would be that Tehran is playing for time by dangling the prospect of a deal before the world’s eyes. Odds are that this dance of threats and diplomacy will continue for a few months longer at least. Washington and Jerusalem know that the costs of waiting too long could be high, but so too could be the costs of acting too soon. Read more »