Council on Foreign Relations

Are you a mid-career professional passionate about foreign policy? Our International Affairs Fellowship in Canada provides the opportunity to dive into key issues pertinent to the U.S.-Canada partnership. Learn more about eligibility and how to apply by 11/30 ➡️ https://on.cfr.org/42MUgA4

"House of Dynamite" writer Noah Oppenheim and CFR nuclear expert Erin Dumbacher discuss the policy of "sole authority", which maintains that the U.S. president has the ability to order a nuclear attack without the weigh-in of others.

“They are still there in the prison, not allowing them to be released because of the symbolism of their names,” says Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani of Qatar. Al-Thani discusses the continued detention of long-term Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody. He raises concerns about the individuals held for decades, some with severe health conditions, and questions the rationale behind their continued imprisonment. He references actions by Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir and calls for accountability regarding the treatment of Palestinian detainees. 🔗 Watch the full conversation: https://on.cfr.org/4odOIaf

Measles cases in the U.S. have hit their highest level in 30 years. "A disease that the United States had thought it had erased 25 years ago is making a comeback," says Allison Krugman, Associate Editor for Data Visuals at Think Global Health. This is not the only vaccine-preventable disease on the rise, with whooping cough also making a resurgence in the U.S. and Japan. A new vaccine-preventable disease tracker has been launched by CFR's Think Global Health to map real-time outbreaks for 9 childhood diseases. Officially eliminated from the United States since 2000, measles has rebounded with more than 1,600 cases in the country this year through late October. The U.S. infections spread into Mexico, causing deaths, and Canada has a large outbreak as well. Thomas J. Bollyky, Director of CFR's Global Health Program, explains that U.S. measles vaccination rates dropped in 78% of counties between 2019 and 2024, falling below the 95% threshold needed for community protection. Use the new tool by Think Global Health: https://on.cfr.org/43JYubS

Using satellite imagery, the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab has corroborated claims of continued mass killings of civilians in the 48 hours since the RSF captured El Fasher. Learn more about the civil war in Sudan with CFR's Global Conflict Tracker ⬇️

This new form of “American state capitalism” can be conceptualized through three distinct ways in which the United States is now intervening in specific firms—as an investor, as a broker, and as a rentier, write William Henagan and Ely Sandler.

“This attack was different because it killed one of our citizens,” says Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani of Qatar. Al-Thani explains how Qatar has only experienced three attacks, including missile strikes from Iraq, Iran, and now Israel. He notes that Qatar’s defense strategy never anticipated an attack from a U.S. ally. 🔗 Watch the full conversation: https://on.cfr.org/4odOIaf

"Mike Johnson has effectively dissolved the United States House of Representatives because the president of the United States asked him to. That is insane," says Representative and Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee Adam Smith (D-WA). Smith notes the House has not been in session since September 19, which he characterizes as unprecedented, emphasizing that it should instead be finalizing the budget and the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act). He notes that the unusual pause is undermining oversight, legislation, and efforts to address the shutdown. Smith also warns that SNAP benefits are set to expire, and that President Trump is choosing not to use emergency funds that were set aside for the payments. 🔗 Watch the full conversation: https://on.cfr.org/4oHMqjr

Donald Trump’s announcement ordering the immediate resumption of nuclear weapons testing has stirred questions about about the type—such as live testing of warheads—and whether the U.S. has entered a new era of nuclear competition with China and Russia. Learn more with expert Erin Dumbacher:

President Donald Trump this week posted on social media that he had ordered the immediate resumption of nuclear weapons testing “because of other countries testing programs.” https://on.cfr.org/4qUt8tp The announcement stirred concern among nuclear policy experts because of its potential disruption of what has been a more than three-decades-long moratorium on live testing of nuclear explosives. It has stirred questions about the type—such as live testing of warheads—and whether the United States has entered a new era of nuclear competition with China and Russia, nuclear security expert Erin D. Dumbacher argues. “Trump’s move appears to be a response to Russia’s recently publicized test of a nuclear delivery system, but raises questions of whether the president wants to risk spurring a new global race to test nuclear warheads,” Dumbacher writes. The Department of Energy has not conducted live tests of nuclear warheads since 1992. Between 1945 and the 1990s, the U.S. conducted more than one thousand detonations; scientists use the data and computer models from those tests today without causing any radiological contamination on or off the test site. President George H.W. Bush issued a testing moratorium in 1992. On the other hand, the Department of Defense routinely tests systems that could carry nuclear weapons. Every year since 1992, the directors of the national nuclear laboratories certify that the U.S. nuclear stockpile is safe, secure, and effective without live testing. China and Russia also do not conduct explosive testing, although they have sites where they could just as the United States does in Nevada. “Russia and China might reciprocate if the United States starts testing again, which could undermine U.S. advantages,” Dumbacher writes. “Trump may have been looking for a countering signal to Putin, not China,” she writes. “Yet China would stand to gain the most from any global restart of nuclear testing as it expands and modernizes its own nuclear program.” The Departments of Energy and Defense have yet to clarify how changes to nuclear testing may proceed. Read more of this analysis at the link above.