'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
Nawaz Sharif, a two-time former prime minister who has talked about ending Pakistan's role in the U.S.-led war against terrorism, was set to win a third term as the South Asian nation's leader on Sunday.
A document uncovered in Mali giving Islamist extremists 22 tips on avoiding drones is sending a subtle message to military analysts: Al Qaeda is becoming more united.
The attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Libya last year has become a factor driving the White House decision on how large a force to leave in Afghanistan after 2014 — and a specter hanging over talks between the Afghan president and the U.S.
Al Qaeda has advanced beyond isolated pockets of activity in Syria and now is building a network of well-organized cells, according to U.S. intelligence officials, who fear the terrorists could be on the verge of establishing an Iraq-like foothold that would be hard to defeat if rebels eventually oust President Bashar Assad.
Foreign policy analysts say an escalation of President Obamas hard-line approach toward Iran is heightening anxiety over the prospect of a military clash, as the U.S. and Europe impose tougher sanctions on the Islamic regime to stop its suspected nuclear weapons program.
The Afghan Taliban is ready to exchange prisoners with the United States and is "optimistic" about engaging in peace talks after it opens its office in Qatar, the militant group's spokesman said this week.
Fears of a coup in Pakistan increased Wednesday when the military warned of "potentially grievous consequences" after the prime minister criticized the army chief and the head of the country's spy agency.
U.S., Afghan and Taliban officials this week have offered contradicting accounts about the purpose of the Taliban establishing an office in the Persian Gulf state of Qatar.
Gunmen with explosives crossed into southern Israel from the Sinai Peninsula on Thursday and carried out an attack that left eight Israelis dead and prompted an airstrike on Gaza that Israel said killed six Palestinians linked to the attack.
The Obama administration's new counterterrorism strategy — the first since the killing of Osama bin Laden last month — will focus on would-be terrorists in the United States who are inspired by al Qaeda's "hateful ideology," the president's top adviser for homeland security and counterterrorism said Wednesday.
Protests for democratic reforms spread Thursday from Tunisia and Egypt to Yemen, where thousands of people gathered in the capital, Sanaa, to demand that the impoverished country's longtime president step down.
Lebanon's year-old coalition government collapsed Wednesday amid fears that a United Nations report into the 2005 assassination of the country's prime minister will trigger a new civil war and plunge the Middle East into another conflict.
Two leaders of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) continued to run the Pakistan-based terrorist group's operations while locked up in a Pakistani prison, according to a 2009 diplomatic message by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has advocated a gradual approach in trying to shut down anti-India militant groups fighting in Kashmir, noting the popularity of such groups among Pakistanis.
Yemen's al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula is offering chilling magazine tips to would-be militants on how to kill Americans.
"The central challenge for Nawaz is to control the army and ISI," said Mr. Riedel, referring to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency. "He must help pick an [army chief] that will work with the civilians."
"On foreign policy, the big winner is Saudi Arabia and [Saudi] King Abdullah," said Mr. Riedel. "[Saudi Arabia's] voice will be heard in Islamabad more than ever."
