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Dana Liebelson

The problem with outsourcing the military

Edward Morrissey

Obama's boneheaded health-care fight with Catholics

Daniel Larison

The brewing proxy war in Syria

Robert Shrum

Nominating Mitt Malaprop

Paul Brandus

Obama's 5 biggest mistakes

China vs. Harry Potter

January 5, 2012, at 10:22 AM

Chinese leaders want to crank out more cultural fare to counter the influence of foreign films. But can Beijing really force-feed its citizens officially sanctioned art?

A video still of Taliban members: America's enemies in Afghanistan seem to be inching toward peace talks, but skepticism abounds.

Are the Taliban really ready to negotiate?

January 4, 2012, at 1:26 PM

Islamist insurgents say they'll set up an office in Qatar where their representatives will work on reconciliation. But are they sincere?

Iran has conducted 10 days of exercises, test-firing missiles, the sort of belligerence experts interpret as a sign that the country is rattled by new U.S. sanctions.

Are sanctions starting to 'bite' Iran?

January 4, 2012, at 10:12 AM

New measures designed to cut into Tehran's financial lifeline — its oil revenue — may be shaking Iran's economy and unnerving its ruling mullahs

Syrian protesters cover their faces as tear gas is fired by the regime's soldiers, who are continuing their crackdown despite the presence of Arab League observers.

Has the Arab League failed in Syria?

January 3, 2012, at 10:44 AM

The organization concedes that Syrian forces have continued killing protesters, despite the presence of foreign observers

6 Comments

A spent nuclear fuel rod: Iran has reportedly built and tested its own fuel rods, a potentially giant step toward the development of nuclear weapons.

Iran's 'alarming' nuclear fuel-rod claim

January 2, 2012, at 1:47 PM

Tehran warns the West that its nuclear program has made a giant leap forward. How worried should we be?

11 Comments

A detainee flanked by U.S. soldiers at Guantanamo Bay: The president has signed a $662 billion defense bill that codifies the military's right to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens accused of terrorism.

Indefinite detention for terror suspects: Did Obama sell out?

January 2, 2012, at 1:32 PM

Progressive critics cry foul after the president signs a defense law enshrining the military's right to indefinitely hold al Qaeda suspects

20 Comments

This photo of eight Chinese siblings in matching onesies and hats has triggered controversy and an investigation: The country initiated its one-child policy in 1978.

China's mysterious, 'bewildering' Octomom

January 2, 2012, at 12:19 PM

In a country where couples are prohibited from having more than one child, an unnamed woman with eight babies is causing quite a stir

A soldier participates in a war game near the Strait of Hormuz: Iran is threatening to block this vital waterway if Western nations tighten their sanctions.

Iran's oil-blockade threat: Mere 'saber-rattling'?

December 30, 2011, at 9:24 AM

Tehran warns that it may stop oil from passing through the critical Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. fires back that it will tolerate no such thing

13 Comments

North Korea's new leader, Kim Jong Un, leads the funeral procession for his late father in Pyongyang.

Kim Jong Il's funeral procession: A 'show of stability'?

December 28, 2011, at 1:17 PM

A meticulously choreographed motorcade in honor of the late dictator presents his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, as North Korea's new leader

A Russian protester holds an anti-Putin sign that reads "Get Tired! Leave!"

Will Vladimir Putin be pushed out?

December 26, 2011, at 1:16 PM

Could the biggest anti-Putin demonstrations yet signal the end of the Russian strongman's domination of his country's politics?

A damaged vehicle at the site of a suicide bomb attack in Damascus, where dozens of Syrians, mostly civilians, were killed Friday.

Syria's twin suicide bombings: Who's to blame?

December 23, 2011, at 1:37 PM

The state media says al Qaeda was behind two deadly blasts that killed dozens Friday. Others think the Assad regime may have orchestrated the attacks

22 Comments

The body of Kim Jong Il lies in state at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang: A top South Korean spy doesn't think the Dear Leader's death was really spurred by too much hard work.

How did Kim Jong Il really die?

December 22, 2011, at 11:25 AM

Reports that North Korea's "Dear Leader" suffered a heart attack while working may be fabricated, a South Korean spy alleges

24 Comments

South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong Il meet in 2000: The death of Kim Jong Il may provide a rare opportunity for the two Koreas, divided since 1945, to inch toward reunification.

Will Kim Jong Il's death make Korean reunification possible?

December 21, 2011, at 11:52 AM

Now that North Korea's belligerent "Dear Leader" is gone, South Koreans are reconsidering the distant dream of a united peninsula

5 Comments

Margaret Cho plays Kim Jong Il on "30 Rock": The late despot has long been a favorite target for U.S. comics.

Kim Jong Il in pop culture: A video roundup

December 20, 2011, at 5:47 PM

From Team America: World Police to 30 Rock, the late North Korean dictator has long proved ripe for parody

David Hickman was a paratrooper from North Carolina who, at the age of 23, was the last U.S. soldier killed in the Iraq war.

Remembering David Hickman: The last U.S. soldier to die in Iraq

December 20, 2011, at 2:54 PM

Nearly nine years after the Iraq invasion, a North Carolina paratrooper became the last member of the U.S. military to sacrifice his life in the war

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