Beyond the border

Politics | From trade to the UN, Democrats will bring some changes to U.S. foreign policy | Priya Abraham

As Congress reconvened after the election on a wet and dreary fall day, the beaten Republican majority had unfinished foreign policy business. On the agenda was the mundane, such as ratifying a nuclear deal with India and a free-trade agreement with Vietnam. The big questions, on what to do about a chaotic Iraq and Middle East, will mainly fall to Democrats as they prepare to lead in January.

Incoming Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) wasted no time outlining his preference. He said U.S. troops should withdraw in phases within four to six months. "We cannot save the Iraqis from themselves," he said. "They, and they alone, are going to decide whether they're going to have a nation or whether they're going to have an all-out civil war."