All Security Watch
- Spate of bombings in Iraq undermines stability ahead of Arab summit
A series of bombings across Iraq today belie Iraq's efforts to portray itself as a stable, resurgent power as it prepares to host the annual Arab League summit for the first time since 1990.
- Fighting in Damascus belies Syrian government's claim of control
Syrian government troops and rebel forces clashed in the most violence Damascus has seen in the year-old uprising.
- NATO's Afghan strategy tested as Taliban talks derail, Karzai demands troop pullback
Details are emerging about US soldier who killed Afghan civilians in a rampage that spurred Afghan President Karzai to demand that US troops leave village outposts.
- Afghans angry that shooting suspect flown out of country
The US military says it is standard procedure to move the suspect, but many Afghans are demanding the US soldier accused of killing 16 villagers in Kandahar face justice in the country.
- Next on Syrian hit list: Deraa, cradle of the uprising
After overrunning Homs and launching an assault on Idlib, Syrian government troops are staging an offensive on Deraa, where the uprising began a year ago.
- Report: Syrian forces overrun rebel stronghold
Syrian government troops appear to have overrun the rebel-held city of Idlib in an offensive that apparently began while UN special envoy Kofi Annan was still in the country.
- Activists: With UN gone, Syrian forces kill nearly 50 women, children
Activists described 'horrific' methods used by Syrian government forces and called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting. The government blamed the deaths on terrorists.
- Former Israeli spy chief talks down strike on Iran nuclear sites as 'stupidest idea'
Former Mossad chief Meir Dagan gave a lengthy interview to CBS's 60 Minutes just days after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu came to Washington to drum up support for an Iran nuclear strike.
- Russia says it won't offer asylum to Syria's Assad
But that doesn't mean that President-elect Vladimir Putin will soften Russia's opposition to intervention in Syria, as the US had hoped.
- Netanyahu gives Obama the Book of Esther. Biblical parable for nuclear Iran?
Esther tells of a Persian plot against the Jews that was thwarted through cunning and the intercession of a gentile king. Purim, the holiday that celebrates the story, starts tonight.
- Iran nuclear talks: delaying tactic or platform for peace?
A return to the negotiation table could relieve some of the tension that has built up over threats of an Israeli military strike on Iran nuclear targets.
- UN inspectors get rare access to suspected Iran nuclear site
Tehran confirmed today that UN inspectors can visit Parchin, a military complex where a chamber for explosives tests has raised concerns about Iran nuclear weapons development.
- Joe Scarborough implies General Dempsey unfit to lead joint chiefs
The morning talk-show host says Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey's comments that Iran is a rational actor should be a firing offense.
- Senator McCain calls for war in Syria
Senator John McCain took to the senate floor and made an impassioned plea for a US-led war effort. He's probably not going to get what he's asking for.
- Inside AIPAC and out, Obama's opponents turn up the heat
Attack ads from lobbying groups, warnings of nuclear doom from GOP hopefuls, and saber-rattling from the punditocracy surround AIPAC's annual meeting.
- Al Qaeda militants serious threat as Yemen transitions away from Saleh
Al Qaeda militants attacked several military bases in Yemen, killing hundreds and presenting an early challenge for the new government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
- Iran debate: If Obama doesn't bluff, he's not a good poker player
President Obama's interview with The Atlantic can be seen as a preemptive strike to control the nuclear Iran narrative ahead of Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu's visit next week.
- Update on Iraq: Not quite freedom on the march
The crackdown on political protest in Iraq, from Baghdad to autonomous Kurdistan, shows that the country is far from a flourishing democracy.
- Humanitarian aid arrives in Homs, Syria, as international pressure builds
Even China and Russia – Syrian allies – have joined the international push for humanitarian relief amid Assad's harsh crackdown.
- If Israeli voters get their way, no attack on Iran without US help
So says a new poll.