What we saw in Washington last week was both unprecedented and a bad omen for the future.

Al-Qaeda's leader is gone, but the ideology he represented is far from dead.

Does the international community - Arab and Western nations alike - have the wherewithal to finish what it has started?

Military intervention may end the humanitarian crisis, but no Western or Arab power has the stomach for it right now.

Obama's critics are playing it safe in an uncertain situation. He should use this breathing space while he has it.

The US cannot - and should not - pick Egypt's next leader, but it should do everything it can to ensure that Egyptians get a real opportunity to do so.

Tunisia presents President Obama with the opportunity to show that, unlike Bush and his other predecessors, he will put the long-term interests of Arab people ahead of the short-term interests of Arab governments.

The attack on Rep. Giffords highlights the ways in which 21st century polarization differs from its 18th through 20th century versions.

The closer we get to 2012, the harder it will be for Obama to ignore talk of the Iranian threat.

The learning curve for new members of Congress is always steep. This year, it may be even steeper.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but, yes, it has already started.

The former President's heirs have reduced his philosophy to a parody of itself.

Democracies can only engage in lengthy wars when those conflicts enjoy some degree of popular backing.

The Democrats are in trouble - but Obama remains America's most popular politician. That might mean that November's outcome is less clear-cut than many pundits and political pros believe.

The talks that began last week in Washington hold little promise - but they may be the best option available just now.

Despite the often bigoted tone of debates surrounding Islam in America, there is cause for hope.

Politicians on the right who should know better are acting in an irresponsible manner

With a tough election looming, Obama is unlikely to pay much attention to the Middle East.


 

America's debate over Afghanistan is starting to sound a lot like discussions about Iraq five years ago.

For many political observers on both sides of the aisle the Senate, in particular, has become a study in dysfunction: a place where a lethal combination of ego and tradition make it nearly impossible to get anything done.

Obama is right to focus on identifying where the intelligence system failed and fixing the shortcomings

Obama may have the Senate's approval, but he remains a long way from signing a bill.

The U.S. President's desire to end the wars he has inherited must be backed by peaceful transitions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Let's all stop comparing Sarah Palin and Barack Obama's poll numbers. The election is too far off for them to mean anything.
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It is high time we ended the dangerous fiction that America is at 'war' with a tactic.
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One year after the American presidential election it is too soon to judge Barack Obama's administration a success or failure, but the progress he has made in restoring the country's international reputation is significant, and praiseworthy.                                                         (complete article)
                           

                              

It is time for a more honest discussion in the US about what, exactly, getting out of Iraq means.
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Washington's dominant narrative concerning the 'surge' is, at best, incomplete and in many ways flat-out wrong. Using it as a guide for policy in Afghanistan is a serious mistake.            (complete article)

Appearing on five Sunday talk shows Barack Obama took time to discuss Afghanistan. The conclusion? Our strategy remains very much a work in progress.                  (complete article)

The rest of the rich world - and much of the not-so-rich-world - takes universal health care for granted. Why is America different?                                                 (complete article)

From the Weekend Review Section: Ted Kennedy was among the last of a vanishing breed of U.S. Senators.
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An attempt to explain America's Summer of Anger.            (complete article)

One might think the health care debate is a purely domestic issue - holding no importance for the Middle East. Nothing could be further from the truth.                    (complete article)

Why do Americans seem uniquely devoted to firearms?       (complete article) 
     

What was most surprising about Hillary Clinton's Iran comments was the lack of reaction they elicited here at home.                                                                                              (complete article)

Does Robert McNamara's career - and his fate in the decades after he left government - hold any lessons for his successors in the Bush and Obama administrations?  (complete article)

The US president is probably best described as a figure of the centre-left who believes the country is drifting in his direction.  (complete article)

Is US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a villain? Someone directly responsible for America's Bush-era torture policies? A figure who should now be brought down in an act of collective catharsis?

In a word, no; though one could be forgiven for thinking otherwise after the media coverage of the last week. On the basis of the current evidence Pelosi surely bears a measure of responsibility for Washington's moral failings of the last seven years. It is, however, a comparatively small share. (complete article)

Until last week there remained a hope, however faint, that a thoughtful and conciliatory new president might be able to convince Republicans of his goodwill and change Washington's tone. Then, on Friday, Justice David Souter announced his retirement from the US Supreme Court.

By Monday morning it was hard to avoid the conclusion that, despite US President Barack Obama's best efforts, the GOP is not interested in reconciliation and is not going to be brought round.

Why, you may ask, should this be of interest to readers outside the United States? Because the retreat of Democrats and Republicans to their respective political trenches means that foreign policy is apt to become merely another ideological battleground. This is especially problematic in the case of the Middle East - a region likely to present Obama with some of his toughest choices; including several that may put him at odds with his own party. (complete article)