Decoder: A key to understanding Russian suspicions of West
The Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies opposed the West for 36 years. After the Iron Curtain fell, NATO…
NATO turns 70. Does it have cause to celebrate?
NATO continues to grow in size but not necessarily in strength. Can the 70-year-old military alliance withstand forces weakening its…
Democracy is in crisis. Time to fight back.
Threatened by populists and "fake news," democracy is in crisis. But it remains better than alternatives -- and a holy…
In Moscow, an education in all things Putin
Recently I went to Russia. I discovered that Russians view their president, Vladimir Putin, in a much different light than…
Corrected – Do you want change? Beware inertia
You're a young person. You want change. You're confident political winds are in your favor. Beware of the defenders of…
It’s the 100th anniversary of the first Muslim democracy
One century ago, Azerbaijan declared independence, becoming the first democratic state in the Muslim world and one of the first…
Prague, 1968: A knock on the door, tanks in the street
“Wake up, wake up! They’ve come, they’ve come!” A Russian-led invasion force riding tanks had rolled into Prague, crushing reform…
In Kyiv, I found a hopeful, anxious, tough Ukraine
Visiting Ukraine, would I find a grim, tense nation shaking off its Soviet past and at war with itself? I…
Remembering feisty Fidel Castro
News-Decoder correspondents remember Fidel Castro -- in an East German football stadium brandishing a rifle, at the UN podium, on…
The West shares blame for Putin
Vladimir Putin is a product of Russian society and power-hungry friends. But the West has helped make him what he…