The Best U.S. Foreign Policy Think-tanks in Washington, D.C.

The best foreign policy think-tanks in Washington, D.C. all have a few things in common. First, they have acclaimed and influential "researchers" that actually have influence either in the government, through a consulting capacity, or the media, through a journalistic capacity. Second, each of the think-tanks are regular hubs for discussion about various types of foreign policies in the U.S.

That said, here's the list:

1) The Brookings Institution.

The Brookings Institution is America's first think-tank and it regularly houses future practitioners and regular policy-makers. For example, U.S. President Barack Obama's advisor on Afghanistan and Pakistan is a Senior Fellow at Saban Center for Middle East Policy, the Middle East policy arm of the Brookings Institute. The current U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, is a former think-tank employee.

Brookings is also known for its cutting-edge research. For example, Brookings had a major role in defining the "benchmarks" ultimately used to describe whether the war in Iraq was moving toward success or not.

2) The Center for America Progress and the American Enterprise Institute.

Depending on whether your political affiliation is with the left or the right, your opinion on which of these is the best will diverge. Nonetheless, if "best" has any affiliation with the amount of influence that a think-tank has, then these two are at or near the top of the list. The Center for American Progress is headed by President Bill Clinton's former Chief of Staff, John Podesta, who also chaired the committee that helped Obama choose his staff.

The American Enterprise Institute is filled with former employees of the Bush administration, perhaps most notably John Bolton, the controversial former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

3) The New America Foundation

The New America Foundation is perhaps the fastest shooting star of any of the foreign policy think-tanks in Washington D.C. The President of the New America Foundation is two-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author Steve Coll, who tends to be the last word on U.S. policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Peter Bergen, CNN's lead National Security correspondent, met Osama Bin Laden prior to 9/11 and has since been a bedrock reference point for Al-Qaeda activity throughout South Asia. Other staff members with New America have strong affiliations with MSNBC, Fox News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic Monthly, The National Interest, and other news media organizations and print publications.

Of course, there are dozens upon dozens more of think-tanks in the Washington D.C. area, but these are indisputably four of the best foreign policy think-tanks in Washington, D.C.

References:

www.brookings.edu
www.americanprogress.org
www.aei.org
www.newamerica.net