Libya, with no history of unity across its tribes and no record of democracy or legitimate government by self-rule, may well flounder and be the scene of a new dictator, a fundamentalist takeover or anarchy. But this has played out in a way that gives a great chance of success, at a lower cost to the United States, than anyone might have imagined.

Instead of placing undue reliance on all-too-fallible bank supervisors and regulators, should we not now be considering doing something serious about the perverse incentives to overly risky bank lending, as well as to the ‘too big to fail’ problem in the US and global banking systems.

In the next month, after more than four decades of distinguished public service including almost five extraordinary years at the Pentagon supervising the successful surges in Iraq and Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates will retire. His parting words, delivered in a series of valedictory speeches, carry the weight of his long experience and sober judgment.

Mubarak cannot stay in office until the September elections; Egypt needs a transitional government until that time.

In her new analysis, Karlyn Bowman finds that public opinion on regulation swings back and forth, often in relation to news events that capture the public's attention, but on the whole, Americans are wary of too much regulation.

Al Franken will be a formidable, talented policy actor who will be taken seriously because he will be a serious player.

The finite commitment to counterinsurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan that President Obama has announced gives the dangerous impression to our enemies that we are not fully committed to victory.

At the NATO summit in Chicago, the much hoped-for deal between the United States and Pakistan to reopen NATO supply routes through Pakistan did not materialize. The experience of the closure and the negotiations has laid bare the changed relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan.