Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani has established a new leadership council comprising government officials, opposition politicians and civil society representatives that will manage national peace efforts and put together an "effective" team of negotiators for possible talks with...

If a generation of low-level warfare has proved anything it’s that you cannot end violent extremism with matching violence. A task forced convened by the U.S. Institute of Peace has come up with a whole new recommended framework for dealing with extremism. Nancy Lindborg, president of the U.S. Institute of Peace, joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin in studio for the details.

Fragility & Resilience

With the Islamic State’s once-extensive caliphate now in ruins, the hunt is now on for the terror group’s elusive leader — Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Amid fears Islamic State will return to its roots as a terrorist guerrilla operation, the reclusive Islamic State founder has not been seen publicly since...

America’s top diplomat swept through the grandiose lobby of the famed Peninsula Hotel with purpose early on a recent morning. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo couldn’t have slept much since arriving late the night before, but he had a bounce in his step as a clutch of reporters attempted to...

When the Syrian conflict began, in March 2011, Bashar al-Assad seemed likely to be ousted, like other strongmen swept away by the Arab Spring. Eight years later, Assad is still president, but of a fractured, demolished country. Now one big question is: Who will pay to rebuild Syria? The bill is large. The United Nations estimates...

Most likely, we will see a return to the ad hoc, irregular diplomacy at the Pompeo and Biegun level we saw after Singapore. This is unfortunate because a consistent, working-level process is necessary for real progress on denuclearization and peace. The two sides will probably focus on narrowing...