• How powerful is North Korea's military?

    How powerful is North Korea's military?

    Jun 20, 2017 06:07 PM EST

    ... to serve in the military. The regime spent an average of $3.5 billion annually on military expenditures between 2004 and 2014, according to a U.S. State Department report. Although Pyongyang is outspent by its neighbors and adversaries in dollar-to-dollar comparisons and defense experts say it operates ...

  • News Wrap: Oklahoma picks up the pieces after deadly tornadoes touch down

    News Wrap: Oklahoma picks up the pieces after deadly tornadoes touch down

    May 11, 2016 12:35 AM EST

    ... Back in this country, the U.S. Justice Department has opted not to seek the death penalty for the alleged mastermind in the attacks on U.S. diplomats in Benghazi, Libya. Ahmed Abu Khattala was captured in Libya two years ago, and brought to the U.S. He's charged ...

  • Two superpowers collide in the Pacific

    Two superpowers collide in the Pacific

    Mar 24, 2016 05:07 PM EST

    ... country in the region (along with Vietnam) with a strategic sense." Singapore's low-key approach applies, even in its worries about the future of U.S. policy and the baffling turns in American politics. At a session with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel at a Singapore ...

  • An Indonesian visitor under fire

    An Indonesian visitor under fire

    Oct 27, 2015 06:39 PM EST

    ... U.S. since his election last year was supposed to be highlighted by two big announcements: that Indonesia would upgrade its strategic partnership with the U.S. (to the same level it has had with China) and its readiness to join the next round of the Trans-Pacific Partnership that ...

  • Here's what Clinton has said on the Pacific trade pact she now opposes

    Here's what Clinton has said on the Pacific trade pact she now opposes

    Oct 07, 2015 09:59 PM EST

    ... for workers and the environment. — Adelaide, South Australia, Nov. 15, 2012. "There is new momentum in our trade agenda with the recent passage of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement and our ongoing work on a binding, high-quality Trans-Pacific Partnership, the so-called TPP. The TPP will ...

  • Which countries are the world's most innovative?

    Which countries are the world's most innovative?

    Sep 25, 2015 04:15 PM EST

    ... account for more than 95 percent of the world’s population and nearly 99 percent of the globe’s gross domestic product, as measured in U.S. dollars. Researchers weighed each country’s performance in innovation based on 79 indicators that include political and regulatory environment, education, credit, investment and ...

  • Shields and Brooks on Obama trade bill defeat, deploying more troops to Iraq

    Shields and Brooks on Obama trade bill defeat, deploying more troops to Iraq

    Jun 12, 2015 11:17 PM EST

    ... General Zinni, and Andrew Bacevich, and Secretaries Flournoy and Panetta, there seemed to be a consensus that it wasn't going to happen without greater U.S. involvement and engagement. And I just don't see that being a reality, either politically or militarily at this point. JUDY WOODRUFF: It ...

  • Obama picks Ashton Carter to be next Secretary of Defense

    Obama picks Ashton Carter to be next Secretary of Defense

    Dec 05, 2014 03:40 PM EST

    ... Secretary William Perry co-wrote a book, "Preventive Defense," spelling out dangers that, if mismanaged, could grow into "true A-list-scale threats" to the U.S. First on their list: the risk that "Russia might descend into chaos, isolation and aggression." They called this the risk of a "Weimar ...

  • Why is Chuck Hagel stepping down?

    Why is Chuck Hagel stepping down?

    Nov 25, 2014 12:12 AM EST

    As secretary of defense, Chuck Hagel has faced a number of tough challenges, including the Syrian conflict, the rise of the Islamic State and the future of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Judy Woodruff takes a closer look at the reasons behind Hagel’s resignation with Thomas Donnelly of American Enterprise Institute and P.J. Crowley of the...

  • Watch: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel resigns

    Watch: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel resigns

    Nov 24, 2014 02:27 PM EST

    Hagel is the first senior Obama adviser to leave the administration following the sweeping losses for Obama's party in the midterm elections. It also comes as the president's national security team has been battered by multiple foreign policy crises, include the rise of the Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.