All Security Watch
With aid to Afghanistan, past performance is a predictor of future returnsA lot of aid to Afghanistan has been squandered. The latest project indicates that the US still doesn't seem to understand the country's basic needs.
Armistice dead? US and South Korea dismiss North Korea's edictSkepticism about the effect of the North's dismissal of a cease-fire is grounded in past experience.
US in Afghanistan: Why throw more good money after bad?That two more US troops were killed by an Afghan soldier today is a reminder that the Afghanistan 'surge,' which ended last year, accomplished few of its objectives.
North Korea leaves phone to South Korea off the hookThis follows threats from Pyongyang last week both to end the armistice and to 'exercise the right to a preemptive nuclear attack.'
UN peacekeepers pull out of Syrian-Israeli DMZ as civil war edges closerThe eight peacekeepers, who were escorted into Israel by the IDF, are part of the same battalion as 21 UN troops who were captured by Syrian rebels on Wednesday.
Syrian rebels: UN peacekeepers captured in Golan are our 'guests'A hostage situation that began when Syrian rebels captured UN peacekeepers working in the Golan Heights yesterday seems to be rapidly deescalating as the captors scale back their threats.
Nearly 1 in 20 Syrians are now refugeesNeighboring nations are straining to handle the 1 million refugees generated by two years of fighting.
Syria's violence continues its march across borders, into IraqDozens of Syrian Army soldiers were killed yesterday while in Iraq seeking temporary refuge from fighting with rebels. They were ambushed by suspected Al Qaeda-affiliated militants.
Pressure mounts on Pakistan to secure Shiites after Karachi blastThe bombing of a Shiite mosque in Karachi killed 48 and injured more than 140. Already this year, nearly 250 Shiites have been killed in Pakistan in such attacks.
Malaysia standoff in Borneo spurs concern about broader repercussionsA rising death toll, three weeks after Filipino militants stormed Malaysia’s eastern state of Sabah on Borneo Island, could spur a broader confrontation between Malaysia and the Philippines.
Sentencing of Islamist leader brings unhealed rifts to surface in BangladeshThousands in Bangladesh protested the death sentence handed to an Islamist political leader for crimes committed during the independence war. At least 40 were killed in the clashes.- Report: UK stripping terrorism suspects of citizenship, US killing some of themSo says an investigation by The Independent, a London-based paper.
Will limited US aid to Syria rebels hasten the end of war, or prolong it?The US has promised to do a lot more to help Syria's rebellion against the government of Bashar al-Assad, but is stopping well short of the kind of aid that might prove decisive.
US will send nonlethal aid directly to Syrian rebelsSecretary of State John Kerry said that some groups the US doesn't support are gaining more influence with the rebels in the absence of greater Western help.
Bradley Manning to admit partial guilt in WikiLeaks caseUS Army Private Bradley Manning indicated he intends to admit guilt for passing classified documents to WikiLeaks in court tomorrow in an apparent bid to discuss his political motives.
Taliban attacks in Afghanistan not down after allThe NATO-led coalition said a data entry error led to a claim last week that Taliban attacks had fallen 7 percent last year. In fact, there's little change. So what did we get for the surge?
Can Dennis Rodman's 'basketball diplomacy' make a difference in North Korea?Rodman's visit to North Korea comes just weeks after the country's third nuclear weapons test. Some say such trips, like that of Google chief Eric Schmidt, boost the North's positioning.
Is a third Palestinian intifada coming?Someday, something is going to have to give in the cold peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. But that's been true for years.
Amid Palestinian protests, Gaza militants fire rocket into IsraelThe rocket launch ended a cease-fire with Israel. Palestinian Authority President Abbas faces powerful voices who say another uprising may be the only way forward after days of large protests.
Hamid Karzai is mad as heck and he isn't going to take it anymoreAfghan President Hamid Karzai would like to make it very clear that he doesn't like the US, his principal protector and patron.
