The king of the world is dead in the water

Fate is fickle, power cyclical, and nothing is new under the sun. Especially in Washington, where after every election the losing party is sagely instructed to confess sin, rend garments and rethink its principles lest it go the way of the Whigs. And where the victor is hailed as the new Caesar, facing an open road to domination.

Obama’s weakness keeps Guantanamo open

It is a testament both to the scale of the legal and moral morass it represents and president’s persistent inability to translate his words into action For the men and women involved in running the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, it must have been disconcerting, to say the least, to have heard their Commander-in-Chief share his personal views on their little corner of Cuba quite so bluntly. “Guantanamo is not necessary to keep America safe ,” he said last Tuesday. “It is expensive. It is inefficient. It hurts us in terms of our international standing.

Weapons in USA

Obama 'red line' on Syrian chemical weapons gets a bit grayer

President Obama has said Syria's use of chemical weapons would be a 'red line.' Evidence is mounting, but Obama's desire for an international response throws prospects for action into doubt.

Is Obama Appalled by His Own Anti-Terrorism Policies?

“I continue to believe that we’ve got to close Guantanamo,” said President Barack Obama at yesterday’s news conference. “The idea that we would still maintain forever a group of individuals who have not been tried, that is contrary to who we are.”

What options does Obama have to close Guantanamo?

With his renewed vow to close the detention camp for foreign terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, President Barack Obama has effectively assigned himself a list of possible ways to take the prison's population down from 166 to zero. Some would be more easily achieved than others.

Pell Grants Shouldn’t Pay for Remedial College

Everyone, from President Barack Obama to U.S. Representative Paul Ryan to Bill Gates, seems to have an idea for improving the Federal Pell Grant Program for higher education.

Air ball! President Obama goes 2 for 22

The trouble started when President Barack Obama took time off from the annual Easter Egg Roll event at the White House to shoot hoops. The underwhelming performance brings to mind recent comments from NBA Commissioner David Stern

What is terrorism?

We asked ourselves those questions the moment we heard the news. Our news anchors asked for the next 24 hours (though they were clear to say at first that they did not know if it was terrorism). President Obama - thankfully - was careful not to use the word in his first press conference on the day of the bombings. But later on the following day - on Tuesday - Obama said, "Any time bombs are used to target civilians, it is an act of terrorism."

Obama wary of doing an Iraq in Syria

By being overly cautious about whether Al Assad is actually using chemical weapons,Washington runs the risk of watching another dictator use weapons of mass destruction on his own people

Putin's Bolotnoye Show Trial

For the first time since 1991, the Kremlin is planning a collective criminal tribunal that is reminiscent of Soviet leader Josef Stalin's infamous "Moscow Trials" of 1936-38. The charges are just as unfounded and absurd as those of almost 80 years past, and investigators are just as determined to provide evidence of a "foreign-funded anti-government conspiracy."

Internal threat

Richard Holbrooke, the late, great American diplomat and broker of the 1995 Dayton peace accords that ended the Balkans war, has had his posthumous revenge—whether he wanted it or not.

Obama and Ukraine

US President Barack Obama’s book royalties have dropped considerably since publication, falling to just under $274,000 in 2012 from $5.6 million in 2009. Readers seem to have switched to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s works, which continue to bring a stead flow of income with the passing years.

Torture flies against US democratic values

The Obama administration’s concealment of details about its use has made it impossible for the US to comply with its UN obligations and has contributed to a disturbing level of public support for the practice

Barack Obama is certainly not itching to start a war with Iran

There are some in Washington and elsewhere who believe a conflict with Tehran is inevitable, but the US president does not seem to be spoiling for a fight the way Bush did

Obama played it safe in Israel

His decision to address the Israeli people instead of their leaders shows that he recognises that the political climate is not conducive to two-state solution talks

Is Obama feeling sequester heat?

President Obama may be backtracking on ending White House tours because of “sequester” budget cuts. He’s talking about restarting some executive mansion visits for some deserving groups

Obama failed promised job policies

Obama recently said $85bn budget cuts mean unemployment will rise.President Obama’s failed job policies are facing bitter criticism from black Americans, whose leaders now say black unemployment has grown

Obama on health care

Health care was the defining political battle of President Barack Obama's first term, and after the economy it remains his most complicated policy challenge at home, central to his place .Obama's vow to cover uninsured and

Obama signs budget bill

President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed into law a stopgap bill that funds the US government to the end of the fiscal year but locks in $85 billion in budget cuts that could dampen the economy

Will the sequester make flying less safe at 149 US airports?

Flying will become a bit more seat-of-the pants for pilots who use some 149 US airports that are scheduled to have their air traffic towers closed next month, thanks to automatic spending cuts imposed by Congress.The $85 billion in

Obamacare a Prescription for a Democratic Headache in 2014

President Obama’s health care law a killer issue in 2010 but an afterthought among voters in 2012 will face another round of attacks in 2014 as its thorniest parts go into effect, potentially supplying Republicans fresh ammunition in their

Obama cooks up hope and dismay in Middle East

President Barack Obama conjured images of Zionist delight and Palestinian despair on a tour which revived his engagement in the Middle East but came up against stubborn obstacles to progress.

Obama stance setback for Palestinians

In eight years on the job, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has seen his share of ups and downs. Thursday's appearance with visiting U.S. President Barack Obama looked like it was one of his lowest points.

President Obama: There Is No Debt Crisis

There has been no shortage of dire warnings about the mounting US national debt, but President Obama is now offering a different assessment: no big deal. “We don’t have an immediate crisis in terms of debt,”

'Peace is possible,' Obama insists in Middle East

President Obama on Thursday in Ramallah, West Bank drew a comparison between the Middle East peace process and the United States' struggle for equal rights. Insisting "peace is possible," President Barack Obama on Thursday

Is there hope for the peace process?

President Barack Obama, delivering a keynote speech to Israeli students, said on Thursday that continued settlement activity was "counterproductive" to peace and urged Israelis to accept the Palestinians' right to self-determination. But

Obama faces Palestinian discontent

US President Barack Obama travelled to the occupied West Bank on Thursday for talks with Palestinian leaders who accuse him of sidelining their dream of statehood.

Obama’s agenda on Middle East trip

US President Barack Obama has set low expectations for his upcoming trip to the Middle East, which seems devoid of any peace initiative or strategy for negotiations.

Obama's visit to Israel without peace plan

US President Brack Obama 's three-day Middle East trip heavy on sight-seeing but will not involve any new drive for peace, White House confirms.Barack Obama will present no new Middle East peace initiative when he makes his first