NYTimes.com

The validity of the unreleased Iranian surveys cannot be assessed in detail, but a closer look at the one sponsored by Terror Free Tomorrow and the New America Foundation reveals ample reason to be skeptical of the conclusions drawn from it. ...

Gen. David Petraeus, head of the United States Central Command, has stated that the next two weeks are crucial to Pakistan’s survival, while David Kilcullen, the counterinsurgency expert, has said that the country could collapse within six months. General Kiyani, Pakistan’s Army chief, could declare martial law imminently if his counter-offensives in the Swat region prove ineffective in stemming Taliban infiltration into the Punjab.

It has been obvious some time that the Pakistani Army has lost control over more than just the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the Swat Valley. The army has now been stripped of the main pillar of its credibility: It is no longer the only institution capable of holding the country together, despite that view being a longstanding axiom in Pakistani politics. Indeed, while some Pakistanis fret about a C.I.A., MI-6 and Afghan and Indian conspiracy to dismember Pakistan, the… more

Even if an additional 30,000 American and NATO troops were deployed in southern and eastern Afghanistan, the Taliban problem would not be reduced. It would merely be pushed back over the Pakistan border, destabilizing Pakistan's already volatile North-West Frontier Province, which itself is more populous than Iraq. This amounts to squeezing a balloon on one end to inflate it on the other.

The coup of the event, however, came by way of Terry Tamminen, Governor Schwarzenegger’s climate adviser and the impresario of the affair that ended Wednesday, who secured the participation of the Chinese. His pitch, he said, was simple: You are talking to governors. If you don’t feel comfortable with the results of those discussions, you can always say that Obama was only there on video, he was only the President-elect, and governors don’t speak for the country. If you… more

Throughout his extraordinary run for the nation's highest office, President-elect Barack Obama has been compared to a number of political leaders: he reminded some of the oratory and vitality of John F. Kennedy, the pragmatism of Franklin Roosevelt, the transformational influence of Ronald Reagan and even the middle-class populism of Bill Clinton.

But in his acceptance speech last night in Chicago's Grant Park, Barack Obama showed that when it comes to a political model, he has loftier aspirations. He evoked none of the above leaders, but instead… more

After nearly two years of speeches, punditry, polls, robo-calls, debates, attack ads, position papers, bumper stickers and campaign rallies the decision about the race for the White House in 2008 is finally where it should be: in the hands of the voters. Today, millions upon millions of Americans will choose their 44th president.

Of course, some voters will be filled with joy after tonight and others won’t. But whatever the outcome, it’s worth standing back for a second and reminding ourselves of the wonder of American democracy.… more

Throughout much of the 20th century Republican and Democratic presidential candidates have repeatedly debated a singular question on the campaign trail: What is the proper role and responsibility of the federal government? In 1980, there was a clamor for smaller, less intrusive government. In the 1930s, Americans expected a bolder, activist profile from their national leaders. And in 2008, this battle has been rejoined with Republicans sounding their quadrennial call for smaller government and Democrats declaring the need for it to play a greater role.

Yet, as Republicans… more

Over the past several days, pundits from across the political spectrum have declared Wednesday night's third and final presidential debate the last opportunity for John McCain to turn around his political fortunes. But as the final encounter between the two candidates demonstrated, such advice was divorced from the reality of this increasingly one-sided campaign. Behind in the polls and lacking a clear economic message, there was little that Mr. McCain could have done to change the fundamental dynamics of this race: a fact borne out in last… more

There is a popular view about presidential campaigns that image and perception, even likability are the crucial variables, with substance usually running a distant second. (The recent vice presidential debate is possibly the quintessential example as Sarah Palin's connect-the-talking-points performance was considered by many pundits a success simply because the substantive expectations were so low.)

However, the second presidential debate in Nashville, Tenn., went a long way toward undermining this long-held perspective. Stylistically, Barack Obama certainly seemed more comfortable than John McCain, but last night it was on policy… more