I took this picture of a plaque outside of the old British Consulate building in old Tripoli. The language is a useful frame to understand how many in the region view their colonial past.

This morning I am helping The Century Foundation launch its new report, Afghanistan: Negotiating Peace The National Press Club event can be watched here live. The meeting starts at 9:30 am EST.

Tune in TODAY at 4 p.m.

This is a guest note by Lawrence Wilkerson, a Visiting Professor at the College of William and Mary. Wilkerson served 31 years in the US Army, much of that time in the Pacific.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Shared some thoughts with Rachel Maddow last night on the tug-of-war between Congress and the Executive Branch on deploying force abroad. Also dispelled the notion that Obama’s views on Libya were hijacked by the women on his team.

Jon Boone of The Guardian reports: Commanders in Afghanistan are bracing themselves for possible riots and public fury triggered by the publication of “trophy” photographs of US soldiers posing with the dead bodies of defenseless Afghan civilians they killed.

This amazing photo was sent in by Nina. Click image above for larger version.

Inevitably, it had to happen.

Whether it was by design or because of Senator Richard Lugar’s broadside that the White House could not just roll into any conflict it wanted to without support of Congress, President Obama has kept American exposure in the growing conflict in Libya fairly minimal. This is a good thing.

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.