The Washington punditocracy is atwitter over the release of Bob Woodward's latest book, "Obama's Wars." The book recounts the debates within President Obama's inner council over the military's recommendation for a troop surge in Afghanistan along the lines of President Bush's 2007 troop surge in Iraq. Mr. Obama is portrayed as thoughtful and deliberative in deciding upon a compromise that grants the military a smaller troop surge than it had requested and announcing the start of troop withdrawals in mid-2011. Lost in the discussion of the book and the Afghanistan war now entering its 10th year - is the larger question of whether the Afghanistan war is worth winning.
The radical Islamic cleric who is the target of an Obama administration kill-or-capture order played a major role in directing the attempted bombing of an airliner on Christmas Day and in other terror plots, a senior U.S. intelligence official has revealed.
BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. says it has no way of providing government officials with the text of encrypted corporate e-mails its devices serve up. But if the companies that employ BlackBerry phones want to hand over the encryption keys to their e-mail, it won't object.
If there is ever to be some semblance of peace in the Middle East, it cannot be achieved with Iran's Khamenei-Ahmadinejad regime remaining in power. The Iranian theocracy has evolved into a classic dictatorship-police state. Its religious credentials were shredded long ago by its recognition as the world's leader in state-sponsored terrorism and its imposition of Shariah law by jihad wherever possible.
Eid ul-Fitr, the Muslim holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, is supposed to be a joyous occasion. But in the U.S.-allied Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain, where the Sunni-dominated government has arrested scores of Shi'ite opposition activists in recent weeks, many celebrated in fear.
The Obama administration is seeking a go-ahead from Congress to sell up to $60 billion worth of sophisticated warplanes to Saudi Arabia and could add another $30 billion worth of naval arms in a deal designed to counter the rise of Iran as a regional power.
The Pentagon plans to ask Congress soon for permission to sell up to $60 billion in advanced weapons to Saudi Arabia, in what could be the largest single U.S. arms sale.
Islam emerged from what is modern-day Saudi Arabia in the seventh century, and never looked back.
A Saudi diplomat in Los Angeles reportedly has asked for political asylum in the United States, claiming his life is in danger if he is returned to Saudi Arabia.
