The United States and its allies and partners must not only understand Iran’s regional strategy and influence but also develop a coherent strategy of their own with which to confront them. Considering the relative economic, political, and diplomatic power of the two sides, it is unacceptable for the United States and its allies to allow Iran even such progress as it has made in these realms.

Sanctions will not persuade the Assad regime to surrender power, and talk about an embargo on luxury goods is a cruel joke.

This morning, ABC aired a Barbara Walters interview with Syrian “dictator by accident” Bashar el Assad, whom she found to be “not like Qadhafi.” (Crazy does come in different flavors, Barbara.) After an airy tour around Damascus, where Walters found that “life goes on,” she took off her tour guide outfit to grill Assad gently about his reign of terror.

Obama administration officials have labeled the United Nations’ failure to act on Syria as “outrageous” and a “travesty”.  But that’s about all they’ve done about Syrian dictator Basher el Assad’s wanton murder of thousands of innocent Syrians.

Five years ago today, then-House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi defied President George Bush's strategy of isolating Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad by going to Damascus. "We do not encourage and, in fact, we discourage members of Congress to make such visits to Syria," the White House spokesman said, calling Syria "a state sponsor of terror."

If the CIA “deniers” won’t accept the word of the former vice president, and the four CIA directors who have testified that CIA interrogations produced invaluable intelligence, perhaps they will believe WikiLeaks.

Conditions in Yemen have changed with the onset of the Arab Spring. Political unrest has created openings for the country’s established opposition movements – including al Qaeda – to maneuver for power. Whether the Arab Spring has brought real regime change in Yemen is unclear. While the international community awaits a fully functional government in the capital of Sana’a, al Qaeda may continue to expand its safe haven in the south.