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January 2009

commentary

The Secret Briefing Obama Needs on Day One
A select few Americans will ever see the president's daily brief -- a digest of the intelligence community's most closely guarded secrets. But trust me, Barack Obama is going to need much more useful information than he is getting now, writes Gregory F. Treverton.
Jan 22, 2009
commentary

A Smarter Economic Stimulus Package
President Obama's infrastructure plan doesn’t yet carry a price tag. We only know that it will be big.... The trick is how it will be done. It will not be enough to simply rebuild and repair critical infrastructure systems. We need to reinvent the systems themselves, writes Martin Wachs.
Jan 21, 2009
commentary

Challenges Ahead for the EU's Security and Defense Policy
On its 10th anniversary, the European Union can look back on its Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) with some sense of accomplishment. But the next 10 years may prove more difficult, writes Christopher S. Chivvis.
Jan 16, 2009
commentary

Defeating Hamas Will Not Defeat Iran
In the absence of clarity of what Israel hopes to leave behind in Gaza, some observers speculate that the offensive against Hamas has a second target: Iran.... Although Hamas surely benefits from Iranian support, Iran's regional position has little to do with Hamas, writes Dalia Dassa Kaye.
Jan 14, 2009