Middle East: Drifting from two-state talks
It's time to start thinking about what will happen to Israel -- and U.S. policy in the Middle East -- when the peace process ends. Politicians don't openly discuss the...
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The new landscape: Al-Qaida is old news — so what’s new?
"Al-Qaida. Bin Laden. Old news. This is the time to move forward." So said President Obama's counterterrorism adviser John Brennan on Monday, and his words couldn't be more true. For...
Moral bankruptcy in Iran
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad likes to boast about the superiority of Iranian moral values to those of the West. So, a week before he traveled to the U.N. General Assembly,...
Pakistan tragedy offers U.S. a chance
Torrential rains continue to torment Pakistan, flooding one-fifth of the country and affecting 15 million to 20 million people. Yet out of this human tragedy could come an opportunity for...
Petraeus: New approach, old strategy
Our policy in Afghanistan may remain the same under Gen. David Petraeus, but his confirmation hearing last week offered fascinating clues about the very different way he will carry it...
Persuading the Taliban
One of the critical components of President Obama's new Afghan strategy is an effort to persuade large groups of Taliban to change sides. The U.S. military is already looking for...
‘Everybody’s Fine’ movie review (VIDEO)
Following Bob Dylan's Christmas album in the gallery of dubious yuletide entertainment comes Robert De Niro's Christmas movie. When we meet De Niro, a solitary guy vacuuming his generic suburban...
Taliban remains potent threat
How can the American public be expected to support a new policy for Afghanistan when they don't know why we're there? This is the question that bugs me as the...
Nobel Peace Prize no favor to a harried Obama
The Norwegian Nobel committee has done President Barack Obama no favor by awarding him the 2009 Peace Prize. The committee bestowed the prize for Obama's intentions, not his achievements --...