Some of the administration's biggest guns have been sent to the Mideast in an all-out effort to get America's squabbling allies and clients to accept a comprehensive regional peace deal.

The American captives are safely home. But was it right to give in to North Korea's obvious diplomatic blackmail?

Ravaged Afghanistan needs genuine, honest elections, and patient national reconciliation, free of foreign manipulation. That's the only true road to peace and stability.

An election held under the guns of a foreign occupation army cannot be called legitimate or democratic. That's a basic tenet of international law. Charges of a rigged election are correct.