The ratings agency’s decision will have no consequences for the U.S. dollar’s global role, but it highlights the country’s darkening fiscal outlook and governance challenges.

Wars are fought not only on the battlefield but also in domestic political debates and in histories written after the fact. In the case of the US invasion of Iraq 20 years ago, we are still in this final phase, seeking an elusive consensus about the war’s legacy.

The truth is that his tenure as secretary of state was often rocky, and as full of setbacks as acclaim.

Georgia was once a beacon of democracy in the South Caucasus, but today it is backsliding toward authoritarianism and headed back into Russia's sphere of influence. 

The country’s massive economic problems will be a vexing challenge for whoever becomes president.

Russia saw its full-spectrum engagement with Southeast Asia pay dividends following its all-out invasion of Ukraine. But its brief interlude of greater influence in the region is now waning.