United Press International

The United States' chief arms inspector in Iraq, Charles Duelfer, has reported that nearly all of America's assumptions about Saddam Hussein's weapons capabilities were wrong. Saddam was nearly powerless in his region but did not want to let his chief rivals, particularly Iran, know how effectively he had been de-clawed after the 1991 Gulf War.

Saddam was engaged in a complex game of deterrence, which he achieved with sleight-of-hand and bellicosity -- though apparently not with real weapons systems. He needed… more

Tonight, for the first time, both candidates wore red ties. Previously, Bush wore blue. Kerry has always worn red, perhaps trying to reach out to all of those red-tilting voters Bush has been holding. If his tie and comments during the night were an indication, Bush abandoned the blue voters and went back to consolidating his base.

After 90 minutes of a remarkable exchange on what was mostly domestic policy, Kerry ultimately won the night, scoring well in his concern for… more

They both wore red ties tonight.

In the first presidential debate, Bush wore blue and Kerry red. Tonight, during the first and only vice presidential debate, Vice President Dick Cheney loved sitting, as if he were presiding over the debate allowing Gwen Ifill to pose questions. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina was all hands and smiles, bounding out of his chair in trial-lawyer-like style the split second the debate ended. Cheney sat a good while.

The spin has already started about… more

Each year the International Monetary Fund and World Bank hold meetings in the spring and the fall to discuss global poverty reduction, economic growth and development, and exchange rate stability.

These meetings -- along with G7 summits and World Trade Organization Ministerial meetings -- have been the sites of choice for anti-globalization protesters. In the last several years, Washington, D.C. police cordoned off huge areas of the city to all traffic, made mass arrests and imported extra police assistance from… more

What if Israel turns out to be another Crusader State? What if the Jewish state turns out to be temporary, just another character on the stage of history, taking a turn and then departing?

Those questions came to me touring the Jewish state. But they were first put into my head by an Israeli, journalist Yossi Klein Halevi, who wondered two years ago in The Washington Post, if his country might "be like the Crusader kingdom, a passing phase… more

Does the distant history of the Holy Land throw any revealing light on the destiny of the modern Middle East and the United States? Yes, indeed.

The Ludwig Mayer Bookstore sits on Shlomzion Hamalka Street in Jerusalem, right behind the Main Post Office Building. This area, downtown Jerusalem, was ground zero for suicide bombings last year; a tour guide can tick off bloody spot after bloody spot.

These days, most of the restaurants here have guards at the front door. Indeed, a… more

The face of Israel is changing. As the country's old European-origin, middle-class and traditionally moderate secular Ashkenazi elite is waning, two other ethnic groups are rising in numbers and power.

One group is the Russians, who account for almost 15 percent of Israel's Jewish population. Although mostly secular, they tilt to the right; indeed, their politics reflect Slavic influences, a combination of nationalism mingled with suspicion of the state. Many of them are marginally Jewish, but naturally militant; as my Jerusalem-based… more

Israel is a country of much history, but demography is the key to its destiny. How Israel manages its multiplying -- some might say, metastasizing -- multiculturalism is critical to its identity, even to its survival.

On a recent visit to the Jewish State, my first night in Jerusalem was a Friday night, Shabbat. So I went for a walk through the ultra-orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim, just a few blocks away from the King David Hotel, with my friend, Lloyd… more

The suicidal terrorists who flew hijacked planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and into the ground in Pennsylvania last Tuesday believed that they were on a mission from God.

The Revs. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson agree.

Last Thursday on Robertson's TV show, "The 700 Club," Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority, declared, "God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve."

Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition,… more

In his first few months in office, President George W. Bush has made a number of missteps. But he has shown bold and creative leadership on one subject: defense.

Bush has appointed a team of brilliant and experienced military experts, including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, and Andrew Marshall, the legendary strategic thinker in charge of the administration's defense review. If they can overcome resistance in the Pentagon and Congress, the Bush administration will replace… more