Over the past few months, the world has watched with uneasiness and frustration the political drama unfolding in Washington, capital of the world’s largest economy. The fierce partisan debate over raising the debt ceiling was so ugly that it threatened to hold hostage not only the United States’ own

Aug. 5, 2011

Nation-building efforts in Afghanistan face a major turning point.The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has started withdrawing troops stationed in Afghanistan. European and other countries helping to maintain security in Afghanistan will follow suit in reducing their military presence.T

Aug. 5, 2011

To a developing country drifting towards catastrophe as it tries to hold together under assaults from domestic threats and terrorism, $800 million is a lot of money.And so when the Obama administration decided to punish Pakistan by suspending $800 million of its annual $2 billion security aid, one w

Aug. 5, 2011

What’s wrong with this picture: Even as the world is becoming increasingly interconnected and interdependent, we seem to be approaching conflicts more in zero-sum terms and with all-or-nothing politics.Because digital networks and the global economy have humans more tightly bound than any time in th

Aug. 4, 2011

Even last week’s swearing in of Ryan Crocker ― one of the most talented U.S. diplomats ― as ambassador to Kabul seems unable to stanch the perception that U.S. efforts in Afghanistan are waning. Most Americans take solace in the notion that, in President Barack Obama’s words, “the tide of wars is re

Aug. 4, 2011

At first glance, it looks as if the tea partiers scored a big win over Speaker of the House John Boehner and the Republican Party establishment last week. Boehner pleaded for Republican members of Congress to unite in support of a package of spending cuts and a debt-limit increase. He ran into vehem

Aug. 3, 2011

We have stared hard into the abyss of a national default, and the close call with financial Armageddon is starting to make a balanced-budget amendment look good. A stringent restriction on public borrowing, if properly crafted, offers the hope for more fiscal responsibility, less wasteful spending a

Aug. 3, 2011

People have run out of patience with the government. Chat with someone in the street, at a party or a restaurant, anywhere, and you hear the same complaint rising from a grimacing face: We’re fed up; had more than enough of irresponsible, unreliable, dishonest, self-serving officials in government.A

Aug. 3, 2011

Thank goodness for Mitch McConnell. Thank goodness Republicans in Congress didn’t “pull a Newt.” Welcome, Clinton Era II.That’s the conventional wisdom about the budget deal reached July 31. Commentators are emphasizing the statesmanship of the Senate minority leader. Without the Kentucky senator’s

Aug. 2, 2011

America’s violent far right would have no difficulty recognizing the tell-tale signatures of the killing spree in Norway ― and not just because they would see the confessed perpetrator, Anders Behring Breivik, as an ideological soul mate who, like their own heroes, thought he could trigger a white-s

Aug. 2, 2011

The summer debate that has dominated Washington seems straightforward. Under what conditions should the U.S. government be allowed to borrow more money? The numbers that have been bandied about focus on reducing the cumulative deficit projection over the next 10 years, as measured by the Congression

Aug. 2, 2011