Caution Needed with Libya

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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy This morning, I shared some of my reactions on MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown to the then breaking news of Gaddafi announcing he was going to abide by a cease fire and halt military operations. In my view, he is buying time.

Petraeus, Afghanistan, and American Strategy

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It’s not hard to overlook the fact that the United States is still engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan. But we are. Although we have been spending tens of billions of dollars a year in Afghanistan, we have only gotten the “inputs right” in the last six months, according to General David Petraeus.

Responding to Gaddafi: What to Really Do? Risks?

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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy This is a clip of my conversation tonight with Rachel Maddow about the costs and benefits of the UN resolution authorizing any measure than occupation to protect the Libyan people from Moammer Gaddafi.

America on Edge Again: Libya Vote, Libya Vote, Tick Tock, Libya Vote

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The United States is about to vote on a UN Security Council Resolution calling for measures — including armed intervention — to protect the Libyan people from Moammer Gaddafi’s tanks, planes and guns. In other words, the US and allies are on the edge of yet another war in the Middle East.

Why are Saudi troops in Bahrain?

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This is a guest note by Salman Al-Rashid, a Master’s student at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and an intern with the New America Foundation’s Middle East Task Force. Saudi Arabia, like many other states in the Arab world, is confronted with serious socioeconomic and political challenges.

US-Japan Friendship Dolls Then & How to Help Today

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In a heart-moving gesture a few years after the great Kanto earthquake of 1923 in Japan, American children made 12,000 blue-eyed dolls and sent them to Japanese children. After that, 58 highly ornate, beautifully crafted Japanese “Friendship Dolls” were sent by Japanese children to American children.

Japan’s Worrisome Future: Can it Reinvent Itself after These Calamities?

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I spoke with Fareed Zakaria on CNN’s GPS yesterday morning about various possible political and economic impacts of the earthquake, tsunami and worsening nuclear crisis in Japan. Suffice it to say that the production quality of my video presence wasn’t awesome as I did this over Skype from my Doha Sheraton hotel room.

Supporting a No-Fly Zone is Still Fiddling: Responding to Anne-Marie Slaughter

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My friend Anne-Marie Slaughter, former Director of Policy Planning at the State Department and now back teaching at Princeton University, has written a compelling, passionate call for the US to immediately push for a UN Resolution to impose a no-fly zone over Libya.