WASHINGTON — Instead of looking for what the Obama administration accomplished in the first 100 days or what it might achieve in the next 100, we should focus on the longer term. The 1,000-day mark interests me far more than the sprouts of the administration’s early seeds.

Peter W. Galbraith, the author of The End of Iraq and Unintended Consequences: How War in Iraq Strengthened America’s Enemies, formerly served as a U.S. ambassador to Croatia. He discussed global challenges for the United States with foreign-affairs columnist John C. Bersia.

The opening salvo of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s “global listening tour” — a swing through Asia — has produced constructive effects and positioned the United States for renewed leadership in the region.
Nearly a year ago, I recommended that the next American presidential administration focus early and often on the Asia-Pacific area, [...]

In 2009, my America – the one that I grew up with, knew and loved so well – is not as visible around the world. Born from a storied revolution that launched an ongoing pursuit of freedom, democracy and equality, my America offered hope and inspiration everywhere.
Now, though, the United States faces unacceptably diminished credibility [...]

Now that both the Democratic and Republican presidential-campaign teams have a strong component of foreign-policy expertise, how will they use it?
They had better act quickly, because time is short. During the few months before Election Day, voters should demand that the presidential contenders address the international challenges facing the United States with clarity and [...]

Whether Barack Obama’s multi-nation, overseas tour amounts to a political stunt – as critics claim – or not, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president and U.S. senator from Illinois is moving in the right direction. So far, foreign-policy issues have played a pitifully small role in the campaign. To those who believe that discussing Afghanistan, [...]

Some critics have described President George W. Bush’s just-concluded swing through Europe as irrelevant, contending that the region essentially disregards him. Moreover, the critics continue, his visit bordered on delusional. After years of tension, how could Bush possibly have had the nerve to walk the streets of European capitals with such confidence and toss out [...]

TAMPA, Fla. — The U.S. presidential candidates could learn a lesson from the history of the Ybor City neighborhood, once known as the Cigar Capital of the World. The district’s multicultural background – which dates from its establishment by businessman Vicente Martinez Ybor and others in the mid-1880s – underscores the importance of foreign-language training [...]

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — If America’s key asymmetric advantage is its people, as U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asserted during a national conference last week, then why are we waiting to engage everyone in a serious, public debate on how best to maximize the application of this nation’s strengths against the weaknesses of its [...]

When a country has a complicated, problematic and history-burdened relationship with another nation – as China has with Japan – one would anticipate strained ties at best. Why, then, has Chinese President Hu Jintao undertaken a state visit to Tokyo?