Marco Vicenzino

As military operations intensify with the summer heat, another fiasco emerges in President Barack Obama’s Afghanistan campaign. With a new strategy unfolding, the timing could not be worse. Public criticism by Gen. Stanley McChrystal and his advisers of the White House constituted insubordination. Within his prerogative as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the president accordingly dismissed the general as head of operations. Personal insults aside, Team McChrystal’s criticisms are fairly accurate. However, it naively chose the wrong forum for expression and paid a price. (more)

The competition for influence in central Asia has long been referred to as the Great Game. The region may witness its greatest game should the discovery in Afghanistan of an estimated $1 trillion in unexploited minerals bear fruit. For Afghanistan, it would represent its most definitive game-changer. For the region, it would trigger a reconfiguration of the geopolitical landscape and mark a dramatic shift in the balance of power. The mineral discovery will also open opportunities for either greater economic cooperation and integration or intensified conflict and competition. The stakes in central Asia increase exponentially unlike any other time in its modern history. (more)

Just as Hurricane Katrina dealt a fatal blow to the credibility of President George W. Bush in the second year of his second term, the question swirling in political circles is whether the BP oil spill will deal a similar fate to the administration of President Barack Obama in the second year of his first, and potentially only, term. (more)

Issuing a National Security Strategy (NSS) every four years has become a White House tradition since being mandated by Congress. The multilateral tone of President Obama’s first NSS is an updated version of the spirit of previous documents.  Though rhetorically different from the Bush administration, it is not a radical departure.  In substance, continuity prevails.  The pursuit and promotion of U.S. national interests around the world will not be dictated by a piece of paper.  Necessity and circumstances, and not intention, will regularly determine strategy.  Policy assumes a more reactive and less pro-active role. (more)

Winning over the Washington policy establishment is an art mastered by certain clever foreigners over the years. It requires basic charm and wit, a convincing narrative, understanding the Beltway worldview, mastering its lingo and skills to communicate it effectively. After fulfilling their agenda in the U.S. capital, these masters often move on and evolve according to political convenience, even turning on their friends in Washington if required. (more)

Despite the diplomatically cordial meeting between the US and Chinese leaders and China's likely decision to modify its currency, political pressure in Congress, and other quarters, for a more aggressive China policy is mounting. Beyond currency manipulation, various other issues continue to generate fierce debate on the increasingly complex and troubled U.S.-China relationship. (more)

As Americans troops continue to engage in their most important campaign since the Taliban fall in 2001, media attention has recently focused on another front: the war of words between the Obama administration and Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Karzai blamed outsiders for last year’s election fiasco. He even rhetorically threatened to join the Taliban at least twice. In response, the Obama administration threatened to withdraw its invitation to the Afghan president for a scheduled May 12 meeting at the White House. This begs the simple question: How did we reach this point? (more)

Attempting to build upon his health care bill momentum, President Barack Obama finally provided U.S. service men and women in Afghanistan what they deserved long ago: a visit from their commander in chief. The carefully scripted and timed visit followed similar unannounced trips by George W. Bush to war zones. Flawless as always at the podium and in front of the teleprompter, the president was on message. After spending enormous political capital on health care, President Obama wishes to remind Americans that he has not abandoned other issues, particularly Afghanistan, the cornerstone of his foreign policy. (more)

The relative stability in Iraq over the past two years has deceived many to conclude that Iraq will eventually sort itself out. Such complacency will unwittingly contribute to greater turmoil. Whatever progress has been achieved is modest at best and far from irreversible. U.S. engagement at all levels remains indispensable to Iraq’s future and broader regional security. (more)

With Porfirio Lobo assuming the presidency of Honduras, its citizens formally turn the page on the political crisis triggered by Manuel Zelaya’s removal from office in June 2009. It is time for the international community to do the same. Honduras’ fragile economy and its citizens have paid a high price in recent months. They must be given a chance at a new beginning. (more)

The disastrous earthquake striking Haiti has clearly exposed its frailty as the poorest nation in the Americas. With the consent of the Haitian government, the United States must seize the initiative in leading the international rescue and relief effort. The effort must not only match but go beyond the level of American assistance provided to Indonesia after the 2005 Tsunami. (more)