US Pot Assesses Chinese Kettle

It’s a common observation, to the point of triteness, that we tend to hate those traits in others that we’re prone to ourselves. But maybe there’s something to it when it comes to one country’s perception of another. Among the diplomatic cables recently released by...

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Thursday: 14 Iraqis Killed, 17 Wounded

About two million Shi’ite pilgrims are in Karbala for the climax of Ashuraa rituals. Heavy security, including the arrests of three female bombers, has so far prevented any large-scale violence today, but attackers targeting pilgrims in other parts of the country were more successful. At least 14 Iraqis were killed and 17 more were wounded.
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Wednesday: 6 Iraqis Wounded

Because of Ashuraa observances, reports of violence have been scant the last few days except for significant attacks. Only six casualties were reported today and all of them survived. However, there were a number of important news stories in the headlines today.
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Politics in the Terrordome, 2011

Here in the United States of Fear, official voices are again rising in a remarkable crescendo of hysteria. My advice: don't even try getting on the subway car filled with American politicians and their acolytes accusing WikiLeaks and Julian Assange of terrorist...

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Carrots Likely Better Than Sticks in Iran Dealings

Although the recently released WikiLeaks secrets document the well-known animosity of Iran's neighbors to the radical Islamist regime – with their hopes for a U.S. attack on the nation over its nuclear enrichment program – talks to end the Iranian effort will...

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Holbrooke’s Legacy

As the panegyrics to Richard Holbrooke spread over the internet like a thickening fog, the real legacy of this State Department apparatchik came across the news wires a few hours after his death: “Kosovo's prime minister is the head of a "mafia-like" Albanian...

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Tuesday: 9 Iraqis Killed, 72 Wounded

At first, it seemed the religious holiday of Ashuraa would result in fewer reports of violence, but several large attacks have occurred in the last few days, today included. At least seven Iraqis were killed and 69 more were killed across the country in the latest brutalities. The holiday culminates on Thursday and, incidentally, highlights the schism between Sunnis and the Shi’ites who are marking the martyrdom of Hussein ibn Ali. Shi’ite processions and trips to Karbala make these pilgrims easy targets for violence.
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WikiLeaks Conjures Litvinenko’s Ghost

We keep hearing there's nothing in the WikiLeaks cables we didn't already know – this from people who, more often than not, are frothing at the mouth about Julian Assange's alleged “treason” and “anti-American” villainy. Of course, if...

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