Iraq’s Elections: What Washington Must Do

By: Zalmay Khalilzad Today, Iraq holds its most important elections since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. The elections could mark a fresh start for Iraq, or could plunge the country deeper into dysfunction and conflict. The likely outcome of the elections—that no single party will win enough seats to form a new government—provides the United States with an …

Afghanistan Votes

By: Zalmay Khalilzad Yesterday was a good day for the Afghan people and their partners in the international community. Although some polling stations ran short of ballots and security threats forced others to close, the voting in Afghanistan’s national elections went much better than anticipated. More than 7 million Afghans went to the polls – 58 percent of the eligible …

How Emerging Markets’ Internet Policies Are Undermining Their Economic Recovery

Eli Sugarman and Joshua Walker NSA surveillance activities are projected to cost the American economy billions of dollars annually. Washington is not alone, however, in pursuing costly policies in the technology and Internet realm. Several emerging economies – including Brazil, Turkey, and Indonesia – are likewise undermining their already fragile markets by embracing Internet censorship, data localization requirements, and other …

Russia’s War on Internet Freedom Is Bad for Business and the Russian Economy

By: Eli Sugarman Russia’s invasion of the Crimea could push the country into a sharp recession. Yet Moscow’s war on Internet freedom should spook investors even more. It risks long term damage to Russia’s economy, according to a recent report by Dalberg. President Putin should change course and support a free and open Internet before it’s too late. Russia ranks …

Can Iraq Be Saved?

“The situation in Iraq, as well as the one in Syria, demonstrates that the United States cannot wish away the problems of the Middle East.” By: Zalmay Khalilzad The sudden fall of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, and large swaths of the country’s Sunni regions to groups of insurgents and extremists spearheaded by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria …

Russia’s War on Internet Freedom is Bad for Business and the Russian Economy

By: Eli Sugarman Russia ranks poorly in global indexes of Internet freedom due to widespread censorship of online content and repeated violation of users’ rights, including criminal prosecution for blog posts critical of the government. Earlier this month, the Russian government took some of its boldest steps yet and blocked the independent news site of chess-champion and opposition figure Garry …