Support of the U.S. national security establishment was crucial in gaining Senate ratification of New START, but follow-on arms control agreements with Russia face a tough road, says CFR's Stephen Sestanovich.

South Korea's exercises on Yeonpyeong are a response to last month's North Korean attack and growing public anger, says CFR's Scott Snyder, who urges greater China-U.S. cooperation on the Korean peninsula and strengthening South Korean defenses.

Japan's new national defense policy makes only modest changes to its overall capabilities but signals new concerns about threats from China, says CFR's Sheila Smith.

The Afghan strategy review stresses destroying Taliban havens in Pakistan's tribal areas, but Pakistan isn't likely to take an aggressive stand without certainty that the U.S. is committed to both Afghan stability and eliminating extremists, says CFR's Daniel Markey.

The UN climate meeting in Cancun took modest but important steps on a wide range of challenges. But the road ahead is still rocky, writes CFR's Michael Levi.

Empty chairs at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony for China's Liu Xiaobo and a top UN diplomat demonstrate China's power and influence, along with its vulnerability on human rights issues, says CFR's Mark Lagon.

With the U.S. ending its push for Israeli settlement freeze as a precondition for Israel-Palestinian talks, the Obama administration should now focus on managing expectations as much as conflict resolution, says CFR's Robert Danin.

Yesterday's high-level meeting involving Japan, South Korea, and the United States demonstrated that tolerance for Chinese support for North Korea has reached its limit, says CFR's Sheila Smith.

The unauthorized release of a trove of U.S. diplomatic documents, while revealing little new, could harm vital U.S. national security interests in Pakistan and Yemen, writes CFR President Richard N. Haass.

Egypt's parliamentary elections played out in a predictable, marred pattern and may presage a time of instability, writes CFR's Steven Cook.