All Opinion

It's time for the US to get its thoughts – and laws – in order regarding the niqab and burqa. The US can set a standard for how conservative Muslim dress can be integrated into a free, largely non-Muslim society while protecting both civil liberties and public safety.

In an interview, Robert Kaplan says: 'The United States can preserve the peace [in the Asia Pacific] by seeking not domination, but a favorable balance of power with China. It must at some level allow China its rightful place in the Western Pacific.'

Addressing a sensitive past will let these two key democratic powers secure a tense region – and US interests. President Obama's sit-down with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye may have been the start of a needed rapprochement.

Europe should be working to integrate, not isolate, Russia. Punitive isolation is what the Treaty of Versailles did to post-World War I Germany, leading to Hitler’s rise and World War II. Instead, the West and Russia have everything to gain by Russia’s coming closer to the EU.

I feel sorry for the people of Crimea who fell for Russia's lie. The regime will soon show them that even the subtropics can have polar nights. Still, the most powerful Ukrainian army – that of freedom and democracy – marches on, fulfilling its mission, including the liberation of Russia.

Condoleezza Rice states: 'The recent events [in Ukraine and elsewhere] should be a wake-up call to all Americans. I know we are tired and worried about our problems at home, but we cannot eschew the responsibilities of leadership and embolden those who don’t share our values.'

Where is Europe as Vladimir Putin is about to pocket Crimea? Or more to the point: Who is Europe? As Putin’s Crimean gambit unfolds, we don’t hear much from London and Paris. Germany has moved to center stage, touting its responsibility for world order and taking a more active role.

When any country enters a transition out of war or dictatorship, its citizens are full of hope that their leaders, economies, and societies will change. Yet too few transitions deliver. As seen in post-apartheid South Africa, the key to democratic transitions is political and social inclusiveness.

A new study found that teens who used e-cigarettes were more likely to be heavy tobacco cigarette smokers and less likely to quit. Yet America still lets the e-cig industry market to teens. We need to stop them with some strong regulations, just like we did with regular cigarettes.

By targeting the Ukrainian government with a cyber weapon, the Russians are able to effectively engage in an aggressive, kinetic act without actually declaring war, or other countries reacting like it is an act of war. This will not last forever. 

Ukrainian political elites have repeatedly tried to fob off their failures onto Moscow and the West, while extorting maximal support from both. The West must make any cash handouts conditional on meeting protesters' demands for democratic reforms.

Russia’s upper house of parliament is considering measures that would allow it to seize the property and assets of European and US companies in the event of sanctions against Russia. The economic damage of such a self-defeating move should give the Russian leadership pause.

The US and international community have run out of other options for addressing Syria’s bloody civil war. Greater humanitarian assistance can have a stabilizing effect, brings factions together, and paves the way for future cooperation. Without it, broken societies never mend.

Rather than pressuring Hamid Karzai to sign the bilateral security agreement now, waiting for the new Afghan president to sign the BSA gives it more legitimacy, may help end the Taliban insurgency, and will secure better US-Afghan relations for the future.

The strategy of the West regarding Russian aggression in Ukraine should be to complicate Vladimir Putin’s planning. He should be given options to avoid conflict. But he should also be made aware of the negative consequences for Russia that would follow armed conflict.

Republicans worry some of their primaries might produce tea party nominees who could be weak general election candidates. If victorious, others could fundamentally change the character of the Senate GOP. Unexpectedly close races could be a sign of enduring strength for the tea party.

Supposedly the public's inability to face the realities of Social Security makes it a 'third rail' for Congress. But when a recent survey presented Democratic and Republican voters with policy options, the majority clearly agreed on solutions to end the Social Security shortfall.

The world can no longer ignore the vast human suffering of North Korea's people under the Kim regime. The international community can, and must, take steps to support change – not as unlikely, but as inevitable.

Entrenched myths and misinformation have made it nearly impossible to have needed fact-based conversations about the Affordable Care Act. Yet it is fact-based, constructive debate that has the potential to make the law better.