Richard N. Haass
Richard N. Haass, formerly Director of Policy Planning in the US State Department, is President of The Council on Foreign Relations.
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2012-01-26
| Iran’s nuclear activities confront the world with difficult choices – acquiescence, military intervention, or ever-tighter economic sanctions. None is costless or risk-free, and neither the costs nor the risks are possible to calculate with precision.... read |
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2011-11-14
| After the Cold War ended, the US became preoccupied with Europe, and then, after the 9/11 attacks, shifted its focus to the Middle East. Now US foreign policy is beginning to catch up to the importance of the Asia-Pacific region – and not a moment too soon.... read |
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2011-08-31
| Ten years after the 9/11 attacks in the US, we still want to find ways to make ourselves less vulnerable and terrorists more so. But what may be most important, particularly in the Arab and Islamic communities, is to end any acceptance of terrorism.... read |
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2011-05-03
| The killing of Osama Bin Laden by US Special Forces constitutes a significant victory over global terrorism. But it is a milestone, not a turning point, in what remains an ongoing struggle that still has no foreseeable end.... read |
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2011-02-13
| Revolutions happen for a reason, and in Egypt, there are several reasons. Indeed, Egypt was ripe for dramatic change, which would have come at some point in the next few years, even absent the spark of Tunisia or the existence of social media.... read |
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2010-12-13
| For nearly a decade, US foreign policy has been dominated by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As 2011 begins, with 50,000 US soldiers still in Iraq and another 100,000 in Afghanistan, it may not look like that era is coming to an end – but it is.... read |
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2010-11-18
| Few Americans cast their ballot in the recent mid-term elections on the basis of foreign policy. But the fact that foreign policy did not materially affect the elections does not mean that the results will not affect US foreign policy.... read |
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2010-08-18
| Twenty years ago this month, Saddam Hussein, then the unchallenged ruler of Iraq, invaded Kuwait, triggering the first great international crisis of the post-Cold War era. Today, it is Iran, even more than Iraq or Afghanistan, where the lessons of the first Gulf war are likely to be debated and, ultimately, applied.... read |
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2010-05-18
| What makes a country great is not the size of its territory, population, army, or economy, but how it uses its power to shape the world beyond its borders. The question today is what China, India, Brazil, and others are prepared to do with their growing strength.... read |
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Iran at History’s Fork in the Road
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Richard N. Haass 
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Hisotry tends to be punctuated by major developments – battles, assassinations, breakthroughs – that have consequences that are felt for years. Thirty-one years after the revolution that ousted the Shah and brought Islamic rule to Iran, we are at one of those turning points.... read
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2009-11-18
| The Cold War was won as a result of military "containment" of Soviet expansion, the Soviet bloc's own internal weaknesses, and efforts to provoke a crisis of confidence among communist leaders. The same combination of factors should be considered when confronting regimes like those in Iran and North Korea.... read |
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2009-01-19
| Now that George W. Bush is gone, other countries will find that genuine multilateralism requires their willingness and ability to commit resources to deal with pressing challenges. Obama is likely to be more diplomatic than Bush, but he is also likely to be more demanding.... read |
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2008-10-17
| Much attention is focused on foreign policy differences between John McCain and Barack Obama. But there are also key similarities between them, in part because some of their disagreements are not as pronounced as they seem, and in part because the constraints that the next US president will face are certain to limit what either man could do in office.... read |
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2005-10-17
| At first glance, Russia bears many of the hallmarks of a great power. It possesses a large arsenal of nuclear weapons, a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, enormous reserves of oil and other minerals, a recent record of robust economic growth, and more territory than any other country despite being only three-fourths the size of the former Soviet Union.... read |
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2005-07-15
| The recent G-8 meeting in Scotland, as well as concerts and celebrity activism, has put a spotlight on the amount of international assistance reaching the countries and peoples of Africa. This is understandable in light of the continent’s persistent poverty, seemingly endless conflicts, and the prevalence of HIV-AIDS and other infectious diseases. If properly targeted and conditioned on reforms, international aid can make a positive difference.... read |
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2008-10-17
| Much attention is focused on foreign policy differences between John McCain and Barack Obama. But there are also key similarities between them, in part because some of their disagreements are not as pronounced as they seem, and in part because the constraints that the next US president will face are certain to limit what either man could do in office.... read |
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2004-10-31
| Darfur is shorthand for the latest example of a recurring international problem, one that gained headlines a decade ago in Rwanda. What should the world do when a large number of people are the victims of violence originating from within their own country? ... read |
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2005-01-31
| It has been a long time since the words “opportunity” and “Middle East” appeared in the same sentence. But now they are. Even better, this optimism may have some basis in reality.... read |
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2006-05-12
| All but lost in the controversies surrounding Iraq and Iran is a major initiative involving a third “I” country: India. Sometime this year, the United States Congress is likely to vote on the “US-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative,” signed when President Bush visited New Delhi in March.... read |
2010-08-18