James Dobbins

While the entire foreign policy establishment in Washington is running around in circles trying to figure out the magic solution to crack the U.S.-Iran riddle, the two governments aren't even allowed to talk to each other at the most basic levels.

Haiti is turning into a tabula rasa, especially for foreigners, almost virgin territory on which to imagine earthquake-proof dwellings, decent employment and health and education for all.

Now that U.S. involvement in Iraq has finally begun to require fewer resources, Afghanistan is the new focus of anti-war sentiment, and increasingly Obama's critics are drawing on the analogy of Vietnam.