It is a relief that Indonesia arrested 11 would-be terrorists recently before they could go ahead with their intention of attacking the Singapore Embassy in Jakarta, but disquietude remains. Singaporeans owe gratitude to the Indonesian anti-terrorism agency for its vigilance and timely action. It has prevented what could have been a horrific loss of innocent lives. Captured together with small arm

Resuming the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear development programs will be meaningless if it is done with no conditions attached.It is vital to continue to press Pyongyang to take concrete action so that substantive progress is made toward denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and South Korean Foreign Affairs and Tr

On Feb. 3, President Barack Obama and the entire West Wing lost access to e-mail for more than seven hours. A tree-trimmer had accidentally cut the lines running out of the White House data center. White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer sent a bulletin via Twitter ― the only way he could get the news out, he said ― letting the world know that “Verizon is working to solve the problem.” A

Here we go again.The debt ceiling debacle that is unfolding in Washington is not about ideology and it’s not even about putting the nation’s fiscal house in order. It’s not even really about the American people. This is about appeasing just one group of people: the people on Wall Street. And before this is over, watch out for a Wall Street panic, which ultimately breaks the deadlock.So far, the St

For all the frenzy in Washington on debt and deficits, President Barack Obama’s political strategists realize jobs are more important in next year’s elections; they see the two different scenarios. In one, voters conclude that while the incumbent is a nice fellow, the administration’s policies have failed, the economy isn’t getting better and whatever the reservations about the opposition, change

Life for many members of Washington’s diplomatic corps is, one imagines, pretty much a picnic. For example, the ambassador from Barbados generally faces no career-threatening crises. Nor does the ambassador from Luxembourg. Others have trickier assignments. The ambassador from Yemen, Abdulwahab Abdulla al-Hajjri, can’t be having an easy time lately, especially since his brother-in-law is his count

The June job figures showed that the employment rate of women in their 50s, which was at 59.3 percent, was higher than those of men in their 20s (58.5 percent) and women in their 20s (59.2 percent).One commentary said the high rate of employment for women in their 50s cannot be welcomed wholeheartedly, adding that elderly women are driven into the job market as their sons and daughters have diffic

Muslim extremists. American heroes. Betrayed confidences. Barren landscapes. It’s the stuff of a summer thriller, but sadly, Joby Warrick’s spellbinding book “The Triple Agent: The al-Qaeda Mole Who Infiltrated the CIA” is a work of nonfiction. And in the end, nine individuals ― including seven CIA operatives ― were killed.Why was a young Jordanian doctor named Humam al-Balawi, who had never been

Debate over the debt ceiling has reached a fever pitch in recent weeks, with each side trying to outdo the other in a game of political chicken. If you believe some of the things that are being written, the world will come to an end if the U.S. defaults on even the tiniest portion of its debt. In strict terms, the default being discussed will occur if the U.S. fails to meet its debt obligations, t

Migraine sufferers are all around us. Twelve percent of Americans ― almost one in eight ― are occasionally affected, and most of them don’t retire to a dark room for four days to recover.If you’re one of the afflicted, chances are you have a fairly strong opinion about whether U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s migraines are a deal breaker in her campaign for president. That opinion is likely based on h