Much has been made of Iran’s nuclear program and the perceived threat it poses, but the general public is only slowly beginning to understand that danger posed by already nuclear-armed and occasional US ally, Pakistan.

On Tuesday, Israeli voters go to the polls. In the face of difficult times they are forced to make difficult choices. On one hand, you have the cynical ruling coalition led by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni for centrist Kadima and Defense Minister Ehud Barak for Labor. With shrewd politicking that would make Karl Rove proud, the coalition government invaded Gaza in order to boost its own polling numbers at a high cost to Palestinian life.

Over the past several years Zimbabwe has come dangerous close to becoming a failed state. Its economy is in ruin as the breadbasket of Africa has been transformed into a nation gripped by famine. In addition the country is experiencing hyperinflation that has been in the hundreds of thousands percent over the past year. On top of the economic crisis is a burgeoning health crisis brought on by the near-total collapse of all public services. What is most tragic of all is that these events are occurring in a country that until relatively recently was known as a model of development in a continent wracked by conflict and poverty.

During the campaign through to the inauguration, President Obama has laid out a change in style for US foreign policy, moving from, in his view, the unbalanced approach of the Bush administration to one that takes into account consultations with allies and the importance of negotiations. In her confirmation hearings, Secretary of State Clinton gave a name to the new strategy, “smart power.”

The question is not whether terrorism is effective. Instead it’s a matter of putting terrorism (and terror) into perspective. Terrorism is a weapon of war, the choice weapon for the militarily weak against the militarily strong. As such, it is effective, or at least raises the costs of engagement. What terrorism is not is an ideology. It has nothing to say about how societies should be governed or how people should live their lives. And therefore it is not something we can defeat. Defeating terrorism is not like defeating communism, but instead like trying to defeat blitzkrieg warfare.

I have to admit when I heard the possibility of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State I thought it was a ridiculous choice. Here’s Senator Clinton, who in the primary bragged about “coming under gunfire” in Bosnia and whose “deep” foreign policy experience included tea with such foreign leaders as President Obama’s foreign policy chief. But then I thought about it a little more and realized that it is a shrewd political choice that aims to neutralize the Clintons and their followers within the Democratic Party.

In a departure from the aggressive rhetoric of late, Russian President Medvedev said that Russia is relying on Obama to restore trust in U.S.-Russian relations and help build a strong strategic partnership. Such a move by the Russian President is interesting. It of course begs the question: Is Medvedev being genuine, or playing for time after threatening to post Russian missiles to negate the effect of a proposed U.S. missile defense shield?

There is calm in Northeast Asia. But it is an uncertain calm. The “hermit kingdom” of North Korea remains as reclusive, impoverished and repressive as ever, constituting a potential threat to the region--either through conflict or collapse. The fragility of the country was emphasized over the past couple of weeks with the widely circulating rumors concerning health problems of the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-il.

Dear President-Elect Obama: As one of the more than 52 percent of people who cast their ballots for you, let me say congratulations. But as one humble citizen wanting to see you succeed, let me add a few words of advice.

Worldwide expectations and interest in the upcoming election is at an unusual high. And if you look at the Gallup poll recently conducted among 70 countries, only four had a plurality of respondents supporting McCain. Coniglio delves into some of his reasoning as to why this is so.