As the death toll mounts and the West struggles to decide what to do, ordinary Syrians like Ahmad are looking to other powers to give them the weapons or simply the courage they crave. Perhaps after two years, Bashar al-Assad is finally getting the war he always wanted.

Reading story after story of girls and women being brutally attacked and raped, I've realized that I don't want one more teenage girl to have to step up and be brave in front of the camera. Or to speak out on behalf of victims everywhere. I want the violence and rape to stop.

Yemen has taken center stage in the war against Al Qaeda, with President Barack Obama recently describing the country as a hub for foreign terrorists....

It is not my intention to criticize the Marines whom I covered and admired in combat, both in Korea and Vietnam. But I was stunned to see troops' lack of language training in Afghanistan.