Syria is very different from Iraq, primarily because there's a war already in progress. That doesn't mean military intervention is the right move, but it makes it a more difficult question.
Category: United States
Running up the white flag on drug prohibition
The United States takes another step away from prohibition of marijuana, but the Republicans are dragging their feet.
Iran and the resonance of the past
Sixty years on from a coup that poisoned Iranian-US relations, the CIA has come clean about its role. It may be a small step forward in a difficult process of reconciliation.
Please don’t feed the beast
Unnecessary military spending is a cancer on democracy, but it takes a case like Egypt to show the real damage that it can do.
How to think about the Senate
Australia has a Senate largely modelled after that of the United States, but understanding its elections is a very different business.
God and the neocons
The Economist's Will Wilkinson does a superb hatchet job on George Will in particular and the whole neocon-theocrat alliance in general.
Politics of race never quite what they seem
You too can have fun comparing election results to people's opinions of the Zimmerman verdict.
Walt Disney bags Nate Silver
The big story of the day is the career shift of the blogger who put statistics on the front page.
Rick Perry looks towards bigger things
Texas governor Rick Perry announces he will retire at the end of his current term. Is he again looking towards the presidency? And could he be the right choice for the Republicans this time?
Snowden and statelessness
Edward Snowden has all sorts of problems. But statelessness isn't actually one of them.
The World is Not Enough 