It's no judgment against John Gaddis' George F. Kennan: An American Life to suggest that now, after years of dancing around each other, its author and its reviewer have learned to make use of each other, as they are doing here now.

Forced to choose between the recommendations of the US military and the extreme views of Senators Jon Kyl and Jim DeMint, enough Republican senators are going military to win Senate approval of the New START treaty this week.

Both Obama and Netanyahu would be wise to think through ways to halt the dysfunctional, paranoiac escalation between Iran and Israel.

Current circumstances -- which include the intense, constant, and insistent attention of the media, focused much more on flaws and shortcomings than on accomplishment -- discourage statesmanship.