1) The name of New York (New York City) 11 letters
2) The name of Afghanistan (Afghanistan) 11 letters
3) The name Ramsin Yuseb (terrorist, in 1993, the scheduled destruction of Gemini Towers in New York) 11 letters
4) In the name of George W. Bush (George W Bush) 11 letters

1. New York is the 11 th State
2. At number 11 aircraft flew 92 passengers (9 +2 = 11)
3. In the plane number 77, which also влетел of Gemini, were 65 passengers (6 +5 = 11)
4. The tragedy occurred on Sept. 11, or 11.09 (1 +1 +9 = 11)
5. Telephone rescue service in the United States - 911 (9 +1 +1 = 11)

1) The number of casualties on the aircraft, crashed, totaled 254 (2 +5 +4 = 11)
2) 11 September - 254y day of the year (2 +5 +4 = 11)
3) 3.11.2004 bombings occurred in Madrid (3 +1 +1 +2 +0 +0 +4 = 11)
4) The tragedy of Madrid happe ... Read more »

Former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) criticized President Barack Obama on Monday for looking “weak” over his administration’s handling of Iran and North Korea.

“Recently, Iranian President [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad announced that his nation has successfully mastered every step necessary to enrich uranium, violating the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty it has signed,” Romney wrote in an e-mail to supporters. “And North Korea's Kim Jong Il launched a long-range missile on the very day President Obama addressed the world about the peril of nuclear proliferation.”

“In both instances, the world's equation for peace and security was altered, and the Obama administration chose inaction.”

The former Republican presidential candidate conceded that it is “still very early in the Obama years,” but said that he is “hoping for a stronger foreign policy” from the president ... Read more »

People with a hammer only see nails. This well-worn maxim aptly describes the United States' relationship with Afghanistan and Pakistan over the past several decades. As early as 1954, when Pakistan received its first substantial tranche of American military and economic aid, the United States identified the country as a bulwark against regional encroachment by the Soviet Union.

When President Barack Obama announced the new "AfPak" (Afghanistan-Pakistan) policy last month, there were hopes that the hammer-and-nails approach — which saw unaccounted billions in military aid showered on the Pakistan army with the assumption that it alone could bring stability — would be shelved. It will take time to assess whether a shift in policy has been actualized.

The new AfPak policy promises a more focused approach in a number of ways.

The most obvious is the shift in attentio ... Read more »

In an earlier article I indicated that, contrary to worldwide expectations — especially in Africa— President Barack Obama would spend a considerable portion of his first term in office addressing domestic economic problems. In the same article, I maintained that Obama could make his mark on Africa by taking specific steps to address the continent's development needs. One of the most intriguing possibilities for the Obama administration is the unlimited potential to mobilize and engage Africans in the Diaspora for that purpose. 
Who are Africans in the Diaspora?
This is not a trivial question. Considerable controversy exists over the definition of Africans in the Diaspora However, the African Union, through an independent continental meeting of experts, concluded that: "The African Diaspora consists of peoples of African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their c ... Read more »

WASHINGTON — Seizing the momentum from recent meetings with Latin American leaders, the Obama administration is quietly pushing forward with efforts to reopen channels of communication with Cuba, according to White House and State Department officials.

The officials said informal meetings were being planned between the State Department and Cuban diplomats in the United States to determine whether the two governments could open formal talks on a variety of issues, including migration, drug trafficking and other regional security matters.

And the administration is also looking for ways to open channels for more cultural and academic exchanges between Cuba and the United States, the officials said.

The next steps, said a senior administration official, would be meant to “test the waters,” to see whethe ... Read more »

Washington, DC - One of President-elect Barack Obama's top priorities will be to rethink the "war on terror" from the ground up. That means following through on his campaign promises to close the US military prison at Guantánamo, which would be a major symbolic achievement.

Obama's administration-in-waiting is now crafting plans to bring several dozen detainees to the United States to stand trial, according to Associated Press reports, but it should prepare to encounter hurdles.

The current US government is wary of closing Guantánamo. Among its biggest concerns is that prisoners will return to the battlefield upon their release. However, available data indicate otherwise.

The Obama administration could learn quite a bit from the Saudi example of detainee rehabilitation. Since May 2003, approximately 117 Saudi nationals have been repatriated from Guantánamo, bringing the ... Read more »

The communications challenges the administration faced this week were obvious and dominated the news.

But I'd like to pause a moment and raise my Saturday morning cup of tea to the First Lady. She had a good week -- her idea to host an East Room event celebrating women at and then to have many of her guests fan out across the city to touch the lives of some students was excellent, and the photographs of the surprised children were priceless. And her new garden is exciting and perhaps will inspire others to try to do the same in their own backyards, albeit on a much smaller scale. I'd be happy if I could grow just one carrot on my rooftop - but still.

Often during the last eight years, Mrs. Bush would have that kind of week while we frantically tried to manage multiple stories. She could manage a book festival, a State dinner, read to students at a local school, sp ... Read more »