The U.S. military has been conducting development-like activities in Africa regularly since the Pentagon stood up the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) in 2002 - and we're still building white elephants.

Russian leaders are trying to use the current thaw in relations with the U.S. to enhance cooperation in space, pushing for joint exploration efforts extending past the life of the international space station.

How do you move from a culture of "need to know" to a culture of "need to share?" Richard Boly thinks about the answer to that question every day. Boly, a speaker at next week's Gov 2.0 Expo, is the director of the Office of eDiplomacy at the State Department.

We traveled from May 3 to May 12 as part of a delegation to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia—two of our most important allies and trading partners in the Middle East. The trip was organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies...

The summit is just the latest example of the growing tendency of the United States to take important issues – such as financial stability, climate change, and nonproliferation – outside the UN system. The Group of 20 has become the prevailing symbol of this trend of addressing complex international issues in informal settings...

The deal, which is similar to one scuttled in October 2009, was in all likelihood designed to forestall a new round of sanctions. In this regard, it doesn't appear to have worked.

Although not in Africa, many in the diaspora contribute by sending money back to their families. Also many eventually return to Africa, bringing new skills and important contact with the First World.

When Mexican President Felipe Calderón pays his respects at Arlington National Cemetery this week, it will be more than a rote diplomatic gesture. He will be signaling the closure of a wound that dates from a 1914 U.S. military occupation -- and the vast improvement in U.S.-Mexico relations in recent years.