Wednesday and Thursday mark Egypt’s first post-Mubarak presidential elections. Sadly, what should be a purple-fingered moment brings some hope and much disappointment. Don’t get me wrong – Mubarak was a loathsome stooge, a petty and incompetent rentier tyrant who deserved what he got and more.

Some of the Obama administration are trying to argue that Ghailani's conviction on one count is a victory. The Justice Department is now hoping to secure a life sentence for that one charge so they can brush this embarrassment under the table.

Our national security would be better served if the United States captured al-Asiri and kept him alive for questioning, so we can find out what he knows.

The leadership of the ISI is changing hands at a critical time for both the U.S. and Pakistan.

The bloody denouement to the Beslan tragedy was barbaric: no other word will suffice. There could never be any justification for terrorists who we are told shot fleeing hostages in the back - nor for those who died at the hands of the ill-judged Spetsnaz operation. I have been asked many times about Chechen involvement in this appalling bloodbath. Of course there can be no denying the direct link between the Beslan tragedy and the war in Chechnya.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh placed family members in critical positions throughout Yemen’s security forces. This graphic shows his family network.

The structure and leadership of al Shabaab are of paramount importance to understanding how this radical Islamist group operates in Somalia.

The new government in Yemen has extracted several of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s cronies from the country’s power structure, including demotion of Saleh’s half-brother Mohammed al Ahmar and nephew Tareq Mohammed Saleh, the former heads of the Air Force and Presidential Guard, respectively.