Very few Westerners would praise a murderer and sell him weapons. Very few Westerners would beat up a poor person in order to get cheaper petrol. But our governments do this abroad all the time.

What is interesting about the tsunami of change sweeping through the Middle East this past month is that the "dumb, undeserving-of-democracy" Arab mas...

Egypt's people reached a tipping point. What has now become a national revolution is a real time example of the global frustration over The Great Game.

While the world watches the events in Egypt play out, we should recognize a disturbing reality: No matter what the results of the uprising, Egypt will be a volatile nation,

The obvious missing player in the demonstrations in Egyptian are "the Brothers." Even as protesters chant "Allah hu Akhbar" in the streets, there is no visible presence of the Brothers in any kind of leadership roles.

What started as a largely middle class internet movement to voice dissatisfaction with stagnation in Egypt has unleashed the fury of the Nile nation's downtrodden hordes.

Like the Shah before him -- a man whose grave is in the heart of Cairo because he was refused burial in the nation of his birth -- Mubarak's speech indicated how out of touch he was with the reality of the people.

While it is still too early to call the protests in Egypt a revolution, Cairo has been under siege for 48 hours. The three-decade long rule of a despot -- and the country's role as an American ally -- is being challenged.

Many youths in Iran born after the 1979 revolution base their impression of Iran as a monarchy on what they have read or heard, and are therefore often sympathetic to Iran's era of monarchy.

Joy. Wonder. This moment, always astounding, when the power we thought eternal vacillates, cracks, crumbles like a castle made of sand.

You certainly do not want to book a trip to Tunisia today or tomorrow. But soon, when order is restored, you will want to visit this remarkable country with its caring, concerned, brave and freedom-loving people.

In an effort to place China's 2010 into perspective, I've decided to eschew a list of books or a summary of headlines in favor of a link-per-month round-up of short pieces from last year.

I remember the exact night, thirty years ago, when I heard John Lennon had been murdered. I was in the hall of the kashag (the Tibetan cabinet) buildi...