Since Iran's controversial and disputed election, President Obama has been noticeably restrained in his reaction.

The secular, pro-American autocratic political cultures that have defined much of the Middle East are dying, if not dead, and the United States would do well not to pretend otherwise.

Taking hostages is just standard operating procedure for Iran.

Don't believe those who herald "reformers"--it's still Khomeini's Iran.

Obama's irresolution and inaction could well make a nuclear Iran his most lasting legacy.

The delusion that one can settle our little disagreements with the Islamic Republic, if only the right people sit around the right conference table, has seized every administration since Carter.

Joe Biden lashed out at the Bush administration for its failure to stop Iran’s drive toward nuclear arms. “When we took office, let me remind, there was virtually no international pressure on Iran ... We were the problem. We were diplomatically isolated in the world, in the region, in Europe. ... Today it is starkly, starkly different.” It's different  — but not in the way Biden suggests.

Iran's actions may indicate what the Western world's counter-priorities have to be: destroying Hezbollah, securing Iraq, and halting the Iranian bomb program.