UP FRONT BLOG

Reuters - Montage image of President George H.W. Bush with Boris Yeltsin, and Mikhail Gorbachev with President Ronald Reagan
Strobe Talbott, November 06, 2009
The twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on Monday has become for many a celebration of Ronald Reagan’s starring role in the demise of the Evil Empire, writes Brookings President Strobe Talbott. But, he says, it was a group of four who ended the Cold War peacefully: Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin and the calm—and calming—"air traffic controller" George H.W. Bush.
Read More and Comment
Diplomacy, Europe
SPOTLIGHT: PRESIDENT OBAMA'S ASIA TRIP

Reuters/Jason Reed - U.S. President Obama meets with Chinese President Hu.
Friday, November 06, 2009
9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Washington, DC
President Barack Obama is scheduled to arrive in Tokyo on November 12, beginning his first trip to Asia as president. He will also travel to China, South Korea and Singapore, where he will take part in meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. On November 6, the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies and the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings hosted a discussion of President Obama’s upcoming trip and the issues he is likely to face.
Read More
Asia, China, Japan, Environment, Trade
UP FRONT BLOG

Reuters/Thomas Peter - A woman unfolds the pre-Islamic revolution Iranian national flag during a demonstration.
Suzanne Maloney, November 04, 2009
Three decades after Iran seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, igniting a 14-month hostage crisis, Suzanne Maloney examines the current state of power in the Islamic Republic. Maloney says that the recent demonstrations in Iran are an extension of the country's unanswered conversation of legitimate ruling authority, and that responses by hard-liners indicate a belief that any reform would beget revolution.
Read More and Comment
Iran, Nuclear Weapons, Nonproliferation, Diplomacy
CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY

Reuters/Jessica Rinaldi - A customer pays at a Target store in Dallas
Karen Dynan, October 29, 2009
How long will the economic recovery take? Karen Dynan, vice president and co-director of Economic Studies, testified before the Joint Economic Committee that there is a great deal of uncertainty about the strength and speed of the nation’s recovery, with gradual expansion being the most likely economic scenario. She says that consumer spending is likely to grow modestly over the next few years because of weak income growth, higher saving and lower borrowing. Policymakers have options to bolster the recovery but they should be mindful of the long-run costs, particularly in terms of the budget deficit, she says.
Read More
U.S. Economy, U.S. Economic Growth