Bravo! Iran allowed the inspection of its "new" nuclear facility near Qom, confirming thru the IAEA that no centrifuges had yet been installed. And the warmongering idiots hyperventilate about a colossal bunker buster!

The Financial Times reports Obama is finally getting around to asking China to do more to achieve stability in Afghanistan. Iran has been helping, but the US fails to give any credit for its assistance. Countries in the area can get the job done at a fraction of the cost the US would squander.

Bravo! The idiotic US/UK invasion of Iraq is one of the greatest acts of collective stupidity and viciousness in the history of the Republic. Galbraith should forfeit in advance his ill-gotten gains. And what about Douglas Feith's schemes for great riches, if Saddam Hussein was overthrown?

What amazing rubbish emanates from Brooks! Slaughtering, or causing the slaughter, of hundreds of thousands of Muslims, is just getting on with what needs to be done! What an idiot.

Israel's dysfunctional "democracy" is incapable of ending the occupation of the West Bank. Obama needs make clear Israel must get out of the West Bank and the Golan Heights - - - or expect an ultimate end of the country as a "Jewish" state.

Ledeen has a long career in disinformation and demonization of Iran. Maybe he doesn't know that Iran is trying to prevent the Taliban from returning to power in Kabul.

Bravo, Glenn. You hit the nail on the head: it is the presence of US troops in Muslim countries, killing people right and left, that inflames hatred of the US. US profile needs to shrink, not increase to gargantuan proportions as sought by General McChrystal.

Bravo. Sir Christopher Meyer (UK ambassador to US, 1997-2003)says the war in Afghanistan serves no conceivable interest of the UK. This applies equally to the US. Iran is hostile to the Taliban, so why is the Obama administration failing to engage with Iran on this issue?

Excellent points. Those who are so eager to "confront" Islam are quite often apologists for the continuing oppression of the Palestinians (both Christian and Muslim) by Israel.

Obama should have pulled at least half of US forces out of Iraq by now.

Obama should have restored normal relations with Syria by now. And with Cuba.

Fine piece. And why didn't the US just allow the Philippines to create their own democracy, when the Spanish agreed to leave? Greed, pride, religious delusions all played a role.

The idiotic decision by "Jerry" Bremer to disband the Iraqi army and security services created the inferno in Iraq. The US is simply the wrong country to be far out in the lead in Afghanistan, when other countries in the area are better able to sort out how to lower the level of violence and instability.

Great piece. The idiots in the Bush administration who disbanded the Iraqi army and security services created this ongoing mess. Greed of course was one of the driving forces in the whole affair.

Bravo! Sure, let's borrow hundreds of billions of dollars from China, to seek "stability" in Afghanistan, and let's not encourage Iran, Russia, India and China to take a seat at the table and work out the best way forward. China can concentrate on mining ventures in Afghanistan, with the US taxpayers foolishly footing the bill! Idiotic US foreign policy is promoted by the Beltway crowd because many of their snouts are deeply placed in the trough of US spending.

Bravo! How curious that the Washington Post demonizes Iran, year in and year out, when Iran's help is essential if even minimum stability is to be achieved in Afghanistan. Encouraging an idiotic US foreign policy is hardly doing the nation any favors.

Bravo! The utter lunacy of US foreign and military policy in the Middle East should be only too obvious. Iran is the enemy of al-Qaeda aand the Taliban. So why in blazes is so much effort in the US put toward demonizing Iran? Imbecility, and viciousness in equal measure.

Fine piece. What in blazes is the US doing, squandering hundreds of billions on a military adventure halfway around the globe, when the countries best able to assess the situation and deal with it, are right in the vicinity? Iran says Nato should have sent tractors rather than tanks to Afghanistan. There is a good deal of truth in this.

Great piece, and Bacevich's comments are spot on. What utter idiocy to have the US taking such a prominent role in the quest for greater stability in Afghanistan. Iran, Russia, China and India should be at the fore. Putting in tens of thousands more US troops will ensure failure, at a huge financial cost. Other countries are far better positioned to assess the best strategy for Afghanistan, and to work out how to implement the strategy.

Good piece. Norway puts forward a sensible foreign policy, that if followed by the US would greatly benefit the US and the world. This would include getting Israel out of the West Bank and the Golan Heights.

Bravo. I recommend Andrew Bacevich's perceptive piece in the Boston Globe today, on the real meaning of the decision Obama faces in Afghanistan. Do we have endless war and trillions squandered, or do we work with other countries toward achieving stability? Russia, Iran and China all are enemies of al-Qaeda and opponents of an extremist Taliban government in Kabul.

Let's hope Obama follows through. Jimmy Carter pressured Israel to get out of the Sinai completely, and make peace with Egypt. This US pressure was very much in Israel's own best interests. Obama needs to do the same regarding the West Bank and the Golan Heights.