Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- April 29, 2011

Anti-government protests have spread across Syria despite weeks of government repression [Reuters]

How America Must Respond to the Massacre in Syria -- Marco Rubio, Foreign Policy

It’s time for President Obama to back up his rhetoric with firm action. The first step: Recall the U.S. ambassador from Damascus.

In recent days, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime has used its army to murder hundreds of innocent civilians as part of a vicious campaign of violence against unarmed Syrian demonstrators. What we are witnessing in Syria is another tragic outrage in the Middle East that requires immediate condemnation backed by specific measures from the United States and the international community. U.S. President Barack Obama needs to make clear whose side America is on, back up our rhetoric with action, and clearly articulate why Syria matters to the United States.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

President Assad’s Crackdown -- New York Times editorial

Syria's instability is its best defence against interference -- Alan Philps, The National

Could the Assad regime fall apart? -- The Economist

Welcome to Hezbollahland: An Interview With Michael J. Totten -- Kevin Sullivan, Real Clear World

Fatah and Hamas: Tectonic plates start to shift -- Guardian editorial

China wants to change the conversation. Let’s not. -- William J. Dobson, Washington Post

Beijing's troubling South China Sea policy -- Michael Richardson, Japan Times

A more interventionist ASEAN is needed -- Awidya Santikajaya, Jakarta Post

Time to wise up on North Korea -- Donald Kirk, Asia Times

Obama’s flawed approach to fighting terrorism -- Jeff Sessions, Washington Post

A new national security team -- Washington Post editorial

Debt limit danger delayed till September? -- Conn Carroll, Washington Examiner

A world without oil -- Steve Hallett and John Wright, Cleveland.com

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- April 28, 2011

PATIENT TRANSPORT - Members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul transport an injured patient to a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter after a bus rollover on Highway 1 in Afghanistan's Zabul province, April 28, 2011. Eleven patients were medically evacuated for further care. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson

The Great Afghan Carve-Up -- Brian M Downing, Asia Times

The United States is seeking a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan. It hopes to reverse the Taliban's momentum and bring them to the bargaining table through a counter-insurgency program, diplomacy with indigenous tribes and foreign powers, and the attrition of Taliban forces. This, the US expects, will give it an important if not central role in a settlement.

But regional powers - primarily Pakistan and China, with the support of Iran and Turkey - see the lone superpower as overextended, weary, and nearing a fiscal crisis - a situation they seek to turn to their advantage. These four regional powers are in a good position to play crucial roles in a settlement and in an excellent position to benefit from one.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

NATO Sending Mixed Messages about Afghan Militias -- The Danger Room
As Petraeus exits, US interests in Afghanistan far from secured -- Christian Science Monitor
What Obama's security team shakeup could mean for Afghanistan -- Yahoo News/Christian Science Monitor
Nation-Building in Afghanistan -- Jam Lacey, National Review

What Syria's neighbors are thinking -- CNN
In Syria, Assad must exit the stage -- Salman Shaikh, CNN
Why Is Obama Protecting Assad? -- Lee Smith, NPR/Weekly Standard
Could the Assad regime fall apart? -- The Economist

Analysts Say Arming Libyan Rebels Could Have Negative Consequences -- Voice of America
Tunisians' welcoming of Libyan refugees is altruism in action -- Mark Vernon, The Guardian
Nato's action in Libya based on hope not knowledge -- Dmitry Babich, The Telegraph/Ria Novosti
Saving lives in Libya -- Washington Post editorial
The battle for Libya. Pressure points -- The Economist

Arab Spring, Israeli Winter -- Benny Morris, National Interest

The Kind of Israel the Middle East Needs More Of -- Paul Pillar, National Interest

Is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about to resign? -- Meir Javedanfar, The Guardian

Europe’s Test in North Africa -- Peter Sutherland, Project Syndicate

China publishes foreign aid strategy -- Joshua Keating, Foreign Policy

The return of European borders? -- Joshua Keating, Foreign Policy

Why Germany's Offshore Wind Parks Have Stalled -- Frank Dohmen and Alexander Jung, Spiegel Online

Gitmo detainees are coming soon to an American city near you -- Washington Examiner editorial

The Trouble With Petraeus -- Michael Cohen, Democracy Arsenal

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- April 27, 2011

SIDE BY SIDE - As U.S. Army Sgt. Albert Smith pulls security, two Afghan boys navigate around him in a village near Qalat, Afghanistan, April 26, 2011. Members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul visited the village to discuss agricultural issues with the residents. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson

Obama Faces Critical Decision On Afghan Troop Withdrawal -- John Bolton, L.A. Times

President Obama's pledge to start pulling troops from Afghanistan in July was imprudent. It will be downright dangerous if the conditions on the ground he pays attention to are political ones at home.

President Obama must soon make a critical decision: how many and what type of U.S. forces to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan this summer. The July withdrawal date is an artificial deadline, one the president created not because it would help us reach our goals in this strategically critical country but for his own domestic political purposes. When Obama made the promise in 2009, at the same time he announced the surge in U.S. troops in Afghanistan, it was imprudent. The way he keeps it now could be downright dangerous.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

Why Afghanistan could upend Obama’s reelection strategy -- Katrina vanden Heuvel, Washington Post
‘Follow the Bear’ in Afghanistan – crazy or clever? -- Robert Haddick, Small Wars Journal
Factbox: A look at costs of Afghan war to U.S. taxpayers -- Reuters
U.S. strategy in Afghanistan likened to disastrous Soviet invasion -- Winnipeg Free Press/Canadian Press
Pakistan confronts U.S. Afghan strategy -- M. K. Bhadrakumar, The Hindu

Will Libya hawks win Obama over? -- Robert Dreyfuss, CBS
Is Gaddafi a legitimate target? -- Nicholas Grief, The Guardian
Analysis: NATO initiatives not seen decisive in Libya war -- Reuters

Tanks signal beginning of end for Assad -- David Gardner, Financial Times
Obama's conflicting policies on Syria -- Aaron David Miller, Politico
No civil war after Assad -- Hussain Abdul-Hussain, NOW

Fatah and Hamas agree to end feud, form government -- Marwa Awad, Real Clear World
Hamas-Fatah pact: Is the peace process over? -- Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post

No.1 US priority in Middle East: regime change in Iran -- Chuck Freilich, Christian Science Monitor

Is the Thai-Cambodia standoff a conflict of convenience? -- Patrick Winn, Global Post

China hopes to avoid fresh revolts -- Frank Ching, China Post

Ivory Coast: A ragtag army falls apart -- Elizabeth Dickinson, Passport/Foreign Policy

A Radical Plan for Cutting the Defense Budget and Reconfiguring the U.S. Military.
Total savings: $279.5 billion. -- Douglas MacGregor, Foreign Policy

The American Soviet -- Victor David Hanson, NRO

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- April 26, 2011

Barack Obama... accused of double standards. Photo: AFP

Obama’s Serial Indecision On The Middle East -- Michael Gerson, Washington Post

An administration that lacks a consistent foreign policy philosophy has nevertheless established a predictable foreign policy pattern. A popular revolt takes place in country X. President Obama is caught by surprise and says little. A few days later an administration spokesman weakly calls for “reform.” A few more days of mounting protests and violence follow. Then, after an internal debate that spills out into the media, the president decides he must do something. But hoping to keep expectations low, his actions are limited in scope. By this point, a strategic opportunity is missed and the protesters in country X feel betrayed.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

Go After Qaddafi -- Christopher Hitchens, Slate

Iraq, Iran and the Next Move -- George Friedman, Real Clear World/Stratfor

The epic Arab battle reaches Syria -- Rami G. Khouri, Daily Star

It's Time For 'Assad The Reformer' To Go -- IBD Editorial

Bearbaiting Iran -- Hossein Askari, National Interest

Thailand, Cambodia edge toward war -- Richard Ehrlich, Asia Times

Washington on the rocks -- Alfred W. McCoy and Brett Reilly, Le Monde

Time for the U.S. to get out of NATO -- Gene Healy, The Examiner

Leonid Ilyich Putin -- Vladimir Ryzhkov, Moscow Times

No Good Options on North Korea -- Council on Foreign Relations

WikiLeaks: how Britain 'became a haven for migrant extremists’ -- Steven Swinford, The Telegraph

Al Qaeda nulcear terrorism: No empty threat -- IBD Editorial

The peacenik hypocrites: Antiwar Democrats give a pass to Obama violence -- Washington Times editorial

China As No. 1? Give Us A Break -- IBD Editorial

The Embarrassed Superpower -- Rich Lowry, NRO

Doomsday on debt? Wall St.'s dubious fiscal frenzy -- Charles Gasparino, New York Post

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- April 25, 2011

Qaddafi's Compound Hit: Is NATO Trying To Kill Him? -- Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor

Yes and no.

Western planes hit Muammar Qaddafi's Bab al-Azizya compound in Tripoli this morning for the second time since international action began over Libya five weeks ago. Qaddafi's spokesman screamed that the man who calls himself the "king of kings" was the target of the air-strikes.

To be sure, NATO insists that the target was a communications center being used for directing attacks on civilians. That would put the target squarely on UN Security Council Resolution 1973's "OK" list, since it calls for the protection of Libyan civilians. Was it some kind of command post for civilian attacks? Perhaps.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

Why John McCain Is Optimistic About Libya -- Romesh Ratnesar, Time

In Libya, 'mission creep' sets in -- L.A. Times editorial

Car wars: Roadmaps to Libya's ground conflict -- Leila Hudson, Al Jazeera

Berber Rebels in Libya’s West Face Long Odds Against Qaddafi -- Scott Sayare, New York Times

The Freedom Movement Comes to Syria -- Fouad Ajami, Wall Street Journal

Egypt’s liberals are losing the battle -- Gideon Rachman, Financial Times

Arab pride reborn through revolution -- Yasmeen El Khoudary, Electronic Intifada

Reforms the Arab monarchies cannot avoid -- Abdulaziz Sager, Washington Post

The Education of an Iranian Revolutionary -- David Feith, Wall Street Journal

Afghan Prison Break: Will It Hurt U.S. Strategy? -- John Wendle / Arghandab, Time

The New Rules: Long-Term U.S. Presence in Afghanistan a Mistake -- Thomas P.M. Barnett, World Politics review

The mirage of an Afghanistan exit -- Jackson Diehl, Washington Post

Walk-to-Work Police force creating accidental guerillas -- Bob A. Fasango, The Independent

Why Pakistan will betray us: The question isn’t if - it’s why -- Jeff M. Smith, The Washington Times

How America is destabilizing Pakistan -- Daniel Larison, The Week

The White House and Guantanamo -- Alana Goodman, Commentary

What the World Sees in America -- Peggy Noonan

Libya, Syria expose Obama's foreign policy incoherence -- Washington Examiner editorial

Copper Is King -- Niall Ferguson, Newsweek

A new global monetary order -- Cho Yoon-jae, Joong Ang Daily

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- April 22, 2011

What Happens After Gaddafi Is Removed? -- Michael Chertoff And Michael V. Hayden, Washington Post

Libyan rebels have made it clear that any proposal to cease fighting and end their current battle against the Libyan government must include the removal of Moammar Gaddafi. President Obama, along with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron, has repeatedly called for the removal of this violent dictator. The objective is clear. And Libya’s future is being determined by a civil war, one in which we unarguably have a hand.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

Why the West need not fear Libya's Islamic warriors -- Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor

We can't put boots on the ground in Libya – but what about fins? -- Chris Parry, The Telegraph

Syrian protesters set sights on riskier goal: Unseating Assad -- Nicholas Blanford, Christian Science Monitor

Syriana: After Bashar al-Assad, the deluge. -- Robert Kaplan, Foreign Policy

Syria crisis could change face of the Middle East -- Jonathan Marcus, BBC

End U.S. aid to Egypt -- Malou Innocent and Abdelilah Bouasria, The Washington Times

Managing Russia’s Unsettled Borders -- Thomas Graham, RIA Novosti

Iran vs. Iraq: Why Tehran is Nervous about Iraqi Oil -- Roshanak Taghavi, Time

The Arms Race Against the Pirates -- Ira Boudway, Bloomberg Businessweek

Central America increasingly becoming home to drug gangs -- Tim Johnson, Miami Herald/McClatchy News

The military interventions we don’t plan for — those to protect civilians -- Sarah Sewall and Anthony Zinni, Washington Post

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- April 19, 2011

European nations sending military officers say they will not train or arm rebel fighters in Libya [Reuters]

In Libya And London, We’re Getting Into A Frightful Mess -- Con Coughlin, The Telegraph

The National Security Council needs to plot a way out of this strategic impasse, says Con Coughlin

The first major challenge that the Government’s “military liaison team” will face when it arrives in Benghazi to provide assistance to Libya’s opposition forces will be to decide which of the many factions it can work with.

It is a measure of the disarray currently afflicting the rebels in their quest to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi that they cannot even agree on who is responsible for leading the offensive. At present, there are two generals – both previously Gaddafi loyalists – who claim leadership, and have their own devoted bands of followers. General Abdul Fattah Younes, who until a few weeks ago served as Gaddafi’s interior minister, claims to have been given command of the ragtag force battling to keep the dictator’s forces at bay along the eastern coast. But his position is being challenged by General Khalifa Heftir, who fled into exile in the 1980s and became a close confidant of the CIA. Heftir’s faction claims that Younes is responsible for the rebels’ disastrous performance in the recent fighting at Brega and Ajdabiya; in turn, Younes’s supporters claim Heftir is a CIA stooge.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

Military analysts: You know, this Libya war could drag on awhile -- Hot Air

Drone attacks in Libya: A mistake -- David Ignatius, Washington Post

Obama’s Libyan dalliance -- Donald Lambro, The Washington Times

Why Obama agreed to unleash Predator drones on Qaddafi forces -- Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor

Are We Losing In Libya? -- IBDeditorial

Do Protests In Nigeria, Uganda, And Burkina Faso Have Anything In Common? -- Christian Science Monitor

With U.S. in support role, NATO's Libya mission 'going in circles' -- L.A. Times

Disorganized Rebellion Doesn’t Mean Defeat -- Max Boot, Commentary

Should we feed North Korea? -- L.A. Times editorial

When will we stop the genocide in North Korea? -- Robert Park, Washington Post

The worry of Nigeria's election results -- The Economist

Vote Results Tap Nigeria's Tensions -- Wall Street Journal

Why Admiral Mullen is talking tough with Pakistan over Haqqani militants -- Christian Science Monitor

Putin and protege at odds on Russia's future -- Dan McLaughlin, Irish Times

Developing Countries Plan to Challenge U.S. Dollar -- Patrick Smith, Fiscal Times

Sweden's finance minister on the Portugal bailout, Europe's recovery, and America's budget mess -- Joshua Keating, Foreign Policy

Remembering Tim Hetherington -- Elizabeth Dickinson, Foreign Policy

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- April 18, 2011

Iraq And Afghanistan Have Become America's Wars Without End -- Diana West, Washington Examiner

Reading about another catastrophically maimed casualty of the "hearts and minds" counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan, I was struck by a biographical note.

This young American, now a triple amputee after stepping on an improvised explosive device while on foot patrol, was only 11 years old when the war in Afghanistan began.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

It's in America's Interest to Stay in Iraq -- Max Boot, Real Clear World

Saudi money wins Obama's mind -- M K Bhadrakumar, Asia Times

The storm in Syria -- Amir Taheri, New York Post

Will Egypt's former ruler Mubarak ever face trial? -- Reuters

Nigerian elections: The good, the bad, and the ugly -- Elizabeth Dickinson, Foreign Policy

Guantánamo, on Trial -- New York Times editorial

West Puzzled by Lukashenko's Clampdown on Weak Opposition -- Christian Neef, Spiegel Online

In Peru, two weak choices -- L.A. Times editorial

Debt: End of the Road? -- Greg Scoblete, Real Clear Politics

Afghanistan: The war we dare not forget -- Con Coughlin, The Telegraph
Afghanistan: No endgame in sight -- The Guardian editorial
Talk Of Peace In Afghanistan Is A Matter Of Trust -- Quil Lawrence, NPR
Is it time to talk to the Taliban? -- Sydney Morning Herald
Has Pakistan dug its own grave in Afghanistan? -- Rediff
Afghanistan might pull off a miracle -- Mohammad Amin Mudaqiq, Asia Times

Libya: A new phase in the conflict? -- Jonathan Marcus, BBC
How Libya Saps America's Power -- Leslie Gelb, The Daily beast
The Libya stalemate -- Washington Post editorial
France Flies, Germany Flops -- Roger Cohen, New York Times
Libya: We must resist the temptation to send in troops -- Telegraph editorial
Libya's only a part of Mideast equation -- Doyle McManus, L.A. Times

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- April 15, 2011

Have The U.S. And NATO Given Up On Libya Mess? -- Byron York, Washington Examiner

While Washington has been consumed by the battle of the budget, the people running the real war in Libya seem to have given up hope of using American and NATO firepower to drive Moammar Gadhafi from power.

"There is no military solution to this conflict," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said this week. "We need a political solution, and it's up to the Libyan people to come up with one."

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

NATO's Last Mission? The military crisis in Libya highlights an existential crisis for NATO. -- Fred Kaplan, Slate

Arming Libya's Rebels: A Debate in Doha -- Charles McDermid, Time

False pretense for war in Libya? -- Alan J. Kuperman, Boston.com

Mideast unrest could boost Iran, but it faces upheaval at home -- Roshanak Taghavi, Christian Science Monitor

Will the Arab Spring bring a peace agreement with Israel? -- Washington Post editorial

The Palestinians’ mistake in seeking statehood from the U.N. -- Aaron David Miller, Washington Post

In S. Africa, song controversy reveals depth of racial rift today -- Savious Kwinika, Christian Science Monitor

Who is to blame for fractured Britain? -- Ruth Dudley Edwards, The Telegraph

Debt fuels Finn anger at European 'freeloaders' -- Christopher Caldwell, The Australian

The tormented isthmus: Big-time drug trafficking has arrived in Central America. Its poor, politically polarised countries must now try to cope -- The Economist

Safer alternative bears on dollar -- Barry Eichengreen, Japan Times

Who will save America from drowning in debt? -- Jeremy Warner, The Telegraph

A Prescription for American Decline -- Max Boot, Commentary

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- April 14, 2011

The (Geo)Politics Behind Europe's Libya Split -- European Voice

Does Germany's lack of support for action in Libya reflect ‘softness' and introversion? No.

Just as with the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the debate over the military intervention in Libya tells us as much about geopolitics within Europe as it does about geopolitics beyond Europe.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

Forty nations made a pact on Libya – now they have to act on it -- Con Coughlin, The Telegraph

Cairo’s Roundabout Revolution -- Nezar Alsayyad, New York Times

U.S. Props Up Oil-Rich Gulf Leaders -- Hossein Askari, The National Interest

Fear and Loathing in the Revolutionary Guards -- Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi, Pajamas Media

The day of Saudi collapse is not near -- Nawaf Obaid, Foreign Policy

What Next In Ivory Coast? -- Voice of America

Why the CIA Doesn't Capture Terror Suspects Abroad Anymore -- John Hendel, The Atlantic

We too should ban the burka -- Allison Pearson, The Telegraph

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- April 13, 2011

Why Obama Was Forced To Give Today's Deficit Speech -- L.A. Times

If President Obama is in political trouble, just wait a minute. He'll give a speech. He thinks speech-making is his best skill and clearly prefers campaigning over presidenting at a desk.

Oh, look! Obama's giving another speech this afternoon.

It's at George Washington University, the administration's new favorite homefield speech-giving place where Obama had Hillary Clinton talk about foreign policy a few weeks ago.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

SPIEGEL Interview With NATO Head Rasmussen: 'There Is No Military Solution To The Libya Conflict' -- Spiegel Online

Middle East: Pray. Hope. Prepare. -- Thomas Friedman, The New York Times

How Bahrain's Government Is Dividing the People -- Karen Leigh, Time Magazine

Who's Really In the Yemeni Opposition, Anyway?: And, more importantly, will they stay together once Ali Abdullah Saleh steps down? -- Charles Schmitz, Foreign Policy

How will Mr. Obama respond to Iran’s nuclear progress? -- Washington Post editorial

Mideast Arms Sales Not So Bad -- Leslie H. Gelb, Daily Beast

When Pakistan Says No to the C.I.A. -- New York Times

Apocalypse now in Japan's nuke zone -- Andy Soltis, New York Post

The War on Soft Power -- Joseph S. Nye Jr., Foreign Policy

We’re firing blanks in the war against piracy -- Praveen Swami, The Telegraph

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- April 12, 2011

Why a Cease-Fire Looms in Libya -- Tony Karon, Time

"From the very beginning we have been asking that the exit of Gaddafi and his sons take place immediately," said Mustafa Abdul Jalil, leader of Libya's rebel National Council on Monday, rejecting an African Union 'roadmap' to peace that had supposedly been accepted by Colonel Gaddafi. "We cannot consider this or any future proposal that does not include this peoples' requirement. He leaves on his own or the march of the people will be at his doorstep." Earlier, Council member Ahmed al-Adbor told the Guardian that "the sons and the family of Gaddafi cannot participate in the political future of Libya."

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

Qaddafi's credibility gap -- Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor

Using Sudan Peace Model for Libya -- Mikhail Margelov, Moscow Times

In Egypt, Is It the Army vs. the Revolution? -- Abigail Hauslohner, Time

The Arab Risings, Israel and Hamas -- George Friedman, Real Clear World/Stratfor

What’s at stake in U.S.-Pakistan spy talks -- David Ignatius, Washington Post

'North Africa Needs a Marshall Plan' -- Spiegel Online

The Purge of the Kremlin Chairmen -- Aleh Tsyvinski and Sergei Guriev, Project Syndicate

Tribal Warriors: Why is it so hard for strongmen to say goodbye? -- Robert Kaplan, Foreign Policy

Japan's well-built society -- L.A. Times editorial

Obama needs to find another Robert Gates -- Cleveland.com editorial

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- April 11, 2011

U.S. Policy in the Levant: Islamism for Syria, Ruin for Israel -- Michael Scheuer, The National Interest

Let us, for a moment, return to the golden days of yesteryear when Arab tyrants could keep order in their countries by simply killing their opponents in any number necessary to hold power. No Arab tyrant was better at this than the late Syrian president, Hafez al-Assad. President Assad’s standout power-keeping moment came in 1982 at the Syrian city of Hama when the Syrian army’s massed artillery made rubble of much of the city and killed 20,000 or so people in an operation meant to annihilate the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood (SMB). The Hama attack served Assad’s immediate goal, temporarily breaking the Brotherhood’s back and driving its survivors deep underground and into exile in Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and elsewhere, where they licked their wounds and prepared for the future.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

Middle East Revolutions Off the Rails -- Christopher Dickey, The Daily Beast

Taliban try soft power -- Khan Mohammad Danishju, Asia Times

Few politicians say it, but most think it: our Afghan war is a disaster -- Julian Glover, The Guardian

Sudan's proxy war may escalate -- Nicky Woolf and Joshua Craze, The Guardian

Does Egypt's Iran Opening Signal Regional Shift? -- Elizabeth Iskander, World Politics Review

China’s Fear: The Arab Spring has the Communist Party leadership on its toes. -- Guy Sorman, City Journal

Whatever Happened to North Korea? -- Bradley Martin, Real Clear World/Global Post

Tokyo's Turning Point: How Will the March 11 Disaster Change Japan? -- Michael J. Green, Foreign Affairs

Why isn’t Obama fighting Colombia’s dirty deal with Chavez? -- Jackson Diehl, Washington Post

Inflating Our Way to a Government-Controlled Economy -- Lee DeCovnick, American Thinker

Big Government on the Brink -- Robert Samuelson, Real Clear Politics

Commentaries And Opinions On The War In Libya

On the Road to Revolution -- Finbarr O'Reilly, New York Times
Should We Negotiate With Qaddafi? -- Daniel Serwer, The Atlantic
'Road map' to Libya peace comes as both sides show signs of fatigue -- Scott Baldauf, Christian Science Monitor
Do not underestimate Gadhafi -- Tony Blair, Washington Times