It was probably North Korea behind the sinking of the South Korean ship. But we still need to respond with a hand and not a fist.
Cheonan: Retaliate with Diplomacy
read more
Focal Points Blog
Reader Challenge: Red Shirt Leaders Turn Yellow — Whither Now?
Thailand’s Red Shirt leaders surrendered to authorities, leaving their followers to fend for themselves.
Nuclear Weapons Are a Gift From God
The Cold War was like two winos who’d dragged themselves from the gutter and stopped drinking. But, hedging their bets on sobriety, they carried around pints of Everclear 190 proof grain alcohol.
Hello, Has Anybody Seen Our Idea of Governance in Afghanistan?
Turning Afghanistan over to the Taliban may actually be a win-win situation for the United States.
When Leaders Sleep Do They Dream of Peace?
So I’m walking to work today and I suddenly start thinking about Ariel Sharon, the former Israeli PM. Sharon went into a coma back on January 4, 2006. To my knowledge, the man is still alive. Correct?
What an interesting story here. What if Sharon came back to us and wanted to work on a Middle East solution?
Reader Challenge: Is the Middle-East Peace Process an Artifact of Another Age?
Does the quest for Israel-Palestine pece still accord with U.S. interests? Is it still the key to Middle-East stability?
Shahzad: A Pretext, Not a Man
The competing assertions about Times Square-bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad’s links relationship with Pakistani Taliban reflects a broader debate both within the U.S. and between the U.S. and Pakistan over how to handle Taliban elements in Waziristan province.
A Final Survey of Nuclear Posture Perspectives
Once and for all, is the Obama administration nuclear posture review slumped or standing up straight? Here’s a sample of commentators whose insights — from fresh to just plain strange — jumped out at us. (The new START treaty is remarked upon as well.)
Okinawa and Obama’s Base-Based Addiction
Japanese PM Hatoyama’s modified base relocation plan looks like a lose, lose, lose proposition for Okinawa, Japan, and President Obama.
Reader Challenge: Is Jerusalem ‘crumbling under the weight of its own idealization’?
In a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal last week, Eli Wiesel described Jerusalem as “the world’s Jewish spiritual capital” and “the heart of our heart, the soul of our soul.” The Sheikh Jarrah [Just Jerusalem] activists who, unlike Wiesel, actually live in Jerusalem, say: “We cannot recognize our city in the sentimental abstraction you call by its name.” They describe the city they call home as “crumbling under the weight of its own idealization.” . . . writes Paul Woodward at War in Context…Jerusalem is crumbling under the weight of its own idealization.