In their two debates so far, Senators McCain and Obama have made but shallow references to America's European allies. The focus of the first discussion was U.S. foreign and security policy: the candidates exchanged views on Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and China. Neither of them, however, mentioned the EU, nor did they sketch their visions of the future of trans-Atlantic relations. Why is that?

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Though overlooked in the States, the recent vote in the Bundestag represents a drastic shift in German foreign policy. By passing an extension and expansion of Germany's mandate in Afghanistan, Germany's leaders not only went against popular domestic opinion but also took one more in a series of gradual steps towards employing a more muscular foreign policy. This is a notable development for the U.S. as it seeks broader international support for its security efforts.

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Could Turkey help mediate longstanding U.S./Iran conflicts over Israel and Iran's nuclear ambitions? Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to try -- but the Obama administration may be less likely to give him a chance because of comments Erdogan made recently in Washington.

"Turkey wants to be the mediator between the new Obama administration and Iran, using its growing role in the Middle East to bridge the divide between East and West," Erdogan told the New York Times on November 9.

But on November 14 at the Brookings Institution, Erdogan suggested that Iran's desire for nuclear weapons was "normal for any country" and that countries with such weapons should consider getting rid of them -- a position at odds with both Turkish and NATO policy and unlikely to convince the Obama administration that Erdogan would be a useful go between.

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No stranger to famous generals, Rome served as a fitting backdrop last week as General Petraeus addressed a mixed crowd of military officers and civilians at the Center for American Studies. For forty-five minutes, the man in charge of the U.S. Military's Central Command gave an Iraq status update, highlighting the tumultuous road that country has traveled especially since the beginning of 2004.

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Allied efforts in Afghanistan are in danger of failing. Attacks against coalition forces are increasing; the economy remains largely undeveloped, with the dubious exception of poppy production; indigenous Afghan police and military forces still require the strong support of allied forces; and government corruption is rampant. Afghanistan is by nature a difficult country to stabilize, but the reality is that the coalition waging the war is in a fractured state.

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