Outgoing Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Eric Edelman says that counter-proliferation is “becoming a bipartisan consensus,” with a special urgency on countries like Iran, and that vigorous negotiations are necessary to stop emerging nuclear capabilities. He reiterates that Iran is on the rise in the Middle East — how’d that happen? — and rejects the [...]
Via Abu Muqawama — who has a Jay Z-like approach to his retirement from blogging — here’s a C.J. Chivers piece in today’s New York Times about Russia’s twilight counterinsurgency in Chechnya. U.S. counterinsurgency doctrine currently privileges economies of force, the cultivation of both local knowledge and local proxies, and parallel-tracked assistance to bolstering local [...]
CBS has released another clip of Katie Couric’s interview with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Tonight’s segment will focus on foreign policy — and judging from this clip, it’s a doozy. Take a look:
Via Politico’s Ben Smith.
Here’s a remarkable piece of video. Sen. John McCain took some hard questions yesterday from Rob Caldwell, news anchor at WCSH in Portland, Maine, about all things Palin.
Take a look:
He’s faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a Soviet-era Kalashnikov, he’s the Russian Prime Minister.

COMMENTARY
Washington again placed bets on the wrong foreign leaders. Is personal diplomacy a farce?