The preeminent goal is stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and the surest path to that goal is for the United States to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action at the earliest opportunity. The clock is ticking.

In a period of increased polarization in domestic politics, fragmentation of society, and social inequity, efforts to adapt and grow to meet the complex 21st century challenges of globalization and technological change should begin at the local level. Germany and the United States face many of the same domestic challenges, and local communities in both countries can learn from each other’s innovative approaches to these issues.

There is no shortage of heart wrenching natural and man-made disasters, conflicts and human suffering every day around the world. But the brutality of the mass murders carried out on March 15th by a self-described white supremacist at the Al Noor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand is nearly incomprehensible.

Professionals and observers alike have been bewildered to see policymaking by pique and tweet, by positions changing on a dime, by lack of coherent strategy and doctrine, and by – at the most generous interpretation – a mysterious “bromance” between President Trump and our principal global adversary, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The United States of America was attacked by the Russian Federation. Attacked. Think about it.