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		<title><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com - Jackson Diehl Archive    ]]></title>
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			<title><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl on Arab disappointment with Obama]]></title>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ It's been nearly six months since Barack Obama stirred hearts and raised hopes across much of the Arab world with his much-promoted Cairo address. Many came away from it expecting a new and more vigorous U.S. attempt to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Others hoped for more American sympathy and support for liberal reform in countries where free expression, women's rights and democratic elections are blocked by entrenched autocracies. <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[Jackson]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Diehl]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[on]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Arab]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[disappointment]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[with]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl on Obama's Afghan indecision]]></title>
			<link>http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=d16462ed2d4d3604098e32963893eb10</link>
			<pheedo:origLink>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/13/AR2009111303088.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</pheedo:origLink>
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			<pubDate>Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ Three autumns ago, Washington was paralyzed with indecision about what to do about a losing war -- in Iraq. A congressionally mandated commission held hearings and weighed options; none of them seemed good. At the White House, President Bush presided over a review that had extended for months as generals and political aides debated whether to escalate or wind down the U.S. commitment. Meanwhile, U.S. soldiers were dying by the scores -- and Iraqis by the thousands. <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[Jackson]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Diehl]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[on]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Obama's]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Afghan]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[indecision]]></category>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl on Iran's unlovable opposition]]></title>
			<link>http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=cd5345f4969c105c45c369b0f3f56383</link>
			<pheedo:origLink>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/01/AR2009110101705.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</pheedo:origLink>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ Iran has been controlled since June by a hard-line clique of extremist clerics and leaders of the Revolutionary Guard who believe they are destined to make their country a nuclear power that dominates the Middle East. It follows that their opposition -- a mass movement that has been marching to slogans such as "death to the dictator" and "no to Lebanon, no to Gaza" -- is bound to be a more plausible partner for the rapproachement that the Obama administration is seeking. <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
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			<category><![CDATA[Diehl]]></category>
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			<category><![CDATA[unlovable]]></category>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[It's Vietnam, again: Does that analysis stand up for every U.S. intervention?]]></title>
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			<pubDate>Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ "One of the lessons of Vietnam," said Democratic Sen. John Kerry, "is if you are going to send American forces into harm's way, you don't do it in a limited way. You don't do it tying hands behind your back ahead of time. You don't ask people to give their lives for something less than the prospect of success."<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=4930123303187" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=4930123303187" border="0" vspace="5"></a> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinions/index.html">Opinions</category>
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		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Allies wait and worry over Obama's Afghan plan]]></title>
			<link>http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=6ece837fdfbf2119efa916409ba148dc</link>
			<pheedo:origLink>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/18/AR2009101801460.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</pheedo:origLink>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ As the president and his National Security Council privately debate whether to send tens of thousands of troops to war, America's European allies watch with a mixture of anxiety and anguish. They know that if the deployment goes forward, they will be asked to make their own difficult and politically costly contributions of soldiers or other personnel. But they are, if anything, even more worried that the American president will choose a feckless strategy for what they consider a critical mission. And they are frustrated that they must watch and wait -- and wait and wait -- for the president to make up his mind. <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[Allies]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[wait]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[and]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[worry]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[over]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Obama's]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Afghan]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[plan]]></category>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[The Coming Failure on Iran]]></title>
			<link>http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=3b677e2ca224ad8a551217f4aeda188f</link>
			<pheedo:origLink>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/02/AR2009100204020.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</pheedo:origLink>
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			<pubDate>Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ The Obama administration's positive tone following its first diplomatic encounter with Iran covers a deep and growing gloom in Washington and European capitals. Seven hours of palaver in Geneva haven't altered an emerging conclusion: None of the steps the West is considering to stop the Iranian nuclear program is likely to work. <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[The]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Coming]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Failure]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[on]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
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			<title><![CDATA[Israel's 'Win' in Gaza Has Lessons for Approach to Iran]]></title>
			<link>http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=b23bc1e87d6f04602da0f904a402d775</link>
			<pheedo:origLink>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/20/AR2009092001295.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</pheedo:origLink>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ When it was launched last December, Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip looked to most people in Washington to be risky, counterproductive and doomed to futility. Not only pundits like me but senior officials of the Bush administration predicted that the Israeli army would not succeed either in toppling Gaza's Hamas government or in eliminating its capacity to launch missiles at Israeli cities. Instead it would subject the Jewish state to another tidal wave of international opprobrium and risk its relations with West Bank Palestinians and Egypt. <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[Israel's]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA['Win']]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[in]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Gaza]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Has]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Lessons]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[for]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Approach]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[to]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Obama's Plans to Meet Hostile Leaders Rebuffed]]></title>
			<link>http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=b46d916693d10ba10ad0656f03e63633</link>
			<pheedo:origLink>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/06/AR2009090601186.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</pheedo:origLink>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ Just over two years ago Barack Obama triggered the first and most enduring foreign policy debate of the presidential campaign when he was asked whether he would "be willing to meet separately, without precondition, during the first year of your administration, in Washington or anywhere else, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea."<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=4930123305907" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=4930123305907" border="0" vspace="5"></a> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinions/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[Obama's]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Plans]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[to]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Meet]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Hostile]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Leaders]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Rebuffed]]></category>
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		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Obama's Biggest Test: Healing the Arab-Israeli Rift]]></title>
			<link>http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=2c078cf00d366daa89ca8e324e5815fa</link>
			<pheedo:origLink>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/21/AR2009082103034.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</pheedo:origLink>
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			<pubDate>Sun, 23 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ Starting in September, President Obama will face a politically fateful battle in Congress over health-care reform. There is also the escalating war in Afghanistan and the tricky task of "responsibly" extracting some of the 130,000 remaining U.S. troops from Iraq. A showdown is approaching with Iran, which shows no sign of responding to a September deadline for opening negotiations on its nuclear program. All of that is on top of nursing the still-convalescing economy. <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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<img alt="" height="0" width="0" border="0" style="display:none" src="http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2219"/>]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinions/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[Obama's]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Biggest]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Test:]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Healing]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[the]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Arab-Israeli]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Rift]]></category>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Iraq's Maliki and Washington Share an Interest in Countering Sectarian Forces]]></title>
			<link>http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=a1eaeafa3b3e71cb85c7a1b2e2b2670e</link>
			<pheedo:origLink>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/25/AR2009072502044.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</pheedo:origLink>
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			<pubDate>Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ Imagine that the Iraqi prime minister comes to Washington for a full menu of meetings with a new American administration. The war in his country is not yet over; 130,000 U.S. troops remain in place; a fateful national election is on the horizon. The night of their summit meeting, the U.S. president holds a televised news conference: Not one question concerns Iraq. Two days later, following the Iraqi's working session with the secretary of state, a joint appearance before the media leads to a newsmaking statement -- about U.S. policy in Honduras. <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[Iraq's]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Maliki]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[and]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Washington]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Share]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[an]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Interest]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[in]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Countering]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Sectarian]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Forces]]></category>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[A Double Standard on Democracy in Latin America]]></title>
			<link>http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=550a4c428731da0797e8cf2af5edbc57</link>
			<pheedo:origLink>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/12/AR2009071201531.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</pheedo:origLink>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/12/AR2009071201531.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
			<pubDate>Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ As the Obama administration and a host of Latin American governments campaigned to reverse the coup in Honduras, another democratically elected Latin leader embarked on a lonely effort to draw attention to the double standard that has lately governed violations of political and human rights in the region. <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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<img alt="" height="0" width="0" border="0" style="display:none" src="http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2219"/>]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[A]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Double]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Standard]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[on]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Democracy]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[in]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Latin]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[America]]></category>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[U.S. Needs to Get a Settlement Deal With Israel]]></title>
			<link>http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=39b10aeab58dcbda8bfba59493a8af8d</link>
			<pheedo:origLink>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/28/AR2009062802287.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</pheedo:origLink>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ The upheaval in Iran offers the Obama administration a host of fresh foreign policy opportunities. Not the least of them is a chance to creep away from the corner into which it has painted itself in the Arab-Israeli peace process.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=4930123308951" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=4930123308951" border="0" vspace="5"></a> <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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<img alt="" height="0" width="0" border="0" style="display:none" src="http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2219"/>]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[U.S.]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Needs]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[to]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Get]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[a]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Settlement]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Deal]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[With]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
			<media:content url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2009/06/28/PH2009062802323.jpg" type="image/jpeg" height="80" width="72"/>
		</item>
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			<title><![CDATA[Abbas's Waiting Game on Peace With Israel]]></title>
			<link>http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=365558af1db9353a9937be8529f05c96</link>
			<pheedo:origLink>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/28/AR2009052803614.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</pheedo:origLink>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/28/AR2009052803614.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
			<pubDate>Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ Mahmoud Abbas says there is nothing for him to do. <br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
<br clear="both" style="clear: both;"/>
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<img alt="" height="0" width="0" border="0" style="display:none" src="http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2219"/>]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[Abbas's]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Waiting]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Game]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[on]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Peace]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[With]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Obama, Netanyahu Differ on Goals]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/17/AR2009051701742.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/17/AR2009051701742.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
			<pubDate>Mon, 18 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ Today Barack Obama will begin a diplomatic relationship that is likely to be as complex, as vexing and possibly as troubled as any he will have during the first years of his presidency. His meeting at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu won't produce the blow-up some expect; a smooth veneer of harmony is more likely. Yet it will quietly inaugurate a contest of wills between two very different politicians -- one that could help determine whether the Middle East shifts toward an era of negotiation and detente, or of deepening conflict. ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[Obama,]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Netanyahu]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Differ]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[on]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Goals]]></category>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[A Reality Check for Obama on Afghanistan and Pakistan]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/08/AR2009050802947.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/08/AR2009050802947.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
			<pubDate>Sun, 10 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ After spending most of the past week in Washington, the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan can be excused if they leave town looking a little smug. ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[A]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Reality]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Check]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[for]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[on]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[and]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Can the U.S. Counter the Taliban's Advance in Pakistan?]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/03/AR2009050301847.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/03/AR2009050301847.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
			<pubDate>Mon, 04 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ President Obama pointed out last week that while the "typical president" has to handle two or three big problems at once, he has had to juggle "seven or eight." Still, the new administration is managing to generate an impressive amount of energy and activism across that broad field. In foreign affairs, that raises a compelling question: Do the levers of American influence still work?<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=4930123314014" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=4930123314014" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[Can]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[the]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[U.S.]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Counter]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[the]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Taliban's]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Advance]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[in]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Pakistan?]]></category>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Barack Obama's Quick Foreign Policy Fixes Run Into Stubborn World Problems]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/19/AR2009041901994.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/19/AR2009041901994.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
			<pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ New American presidents typically begin by behaving as if most of the world's problems are the fault of their predecessors -- and Barack Obama has been no exception. In his first three months he has quickly taken steps to correct the errors in George W. Bush's foreign policy, as seen by Democrats. He has collected easy dividends from his base, U.S. allies in Europe and a global following for not being "unilateralist" or war-mongering or scornful of dialogue with enemies. ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[Barack]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Obama's]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Quick]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Foreign]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Policy]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Fixes]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Run]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Into]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Stubborn]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[World]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Problems]]></category>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Obama, Going Along to Get Along]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040301945.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/03/AR2009040301945.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
			<pubDate>Sun, 05 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ Barack Obama has proved in the past few days that he can work smoothly and productively with a wide range of foreign leaders -- provided that he allows them to set the agenda. ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[Obama,]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Going]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Along]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[to]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Get]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Along]]></category>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[For Obama, Three Time Bombs to Defuse in Afghanistan]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/27/AR2009032702293.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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			<pubDate>Sun, 29 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ Three time bombs are buried within the new and ambitious strategy for Afghanistan that President Obama unveiled Friday. Their detonation -- which would cripple the international mission to stabilize the country and perhaps cripple Obama's presidency -- is not inevitable. But defusing them will take an exceptional performance by U.S. military commanders and diplomats, some skillful politicking by the president -- and maybe a little of the unexpected good fortune that blessed the U.S. surge in Iraq. ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[For]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Obama,]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Three]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Time]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Bombs]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[to]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Defuse]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[in]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Critical Mass in Afghanistan]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/22/AR2009032201526.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/22/AR2009032201526.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
			<pubDate>Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ MAYDAN SHAR, Afghanistan  -- Though the president has yet to formally spell out his strategy, the Obama administration's attempt to turn around a failing war is already beginning here, at a dusty crossroads 25 miles southwest of Kabul.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=4930123318769" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=4930123318769" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[Critical]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Mass]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[in]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
			<media:content url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2009/03/22/PH2009032201531.jpg" type="image/jpeg" height="80" width="72"/>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Parallels Between Obama and Bush]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/06/AR2009030601328.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/06/AR2009030601328.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
			<pubDate>Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ Washington has spent the past couple of weeks debating whether Barack Obama's ambitious agenda and political strategy are more comparable to those of Franklin Roosevelt or Ronald Reagan. Oddly, hardly anyone is talking about the ways in which Obama is beginning to resemble the man who just vacated the White House. ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinions/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[Parallels]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Between]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[and]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Bush]]></category>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Mixed Signals From Moscow]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/22/AR2009022202005.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/22/AR2009022202005.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
			<pubDate>Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ MOSCOW --  Normally sour Russian officials are almost jaunty in describing their first engagements with the Obama administration. "We are excited," says one at the Foreign Ministry. ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[Mixed]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Signals]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[From]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Moscow]]></category>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[A Promise of War]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/08/AR2009020801708.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/08/AR2009020801708.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
			<pubDate>Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ The past four Israeli elections have been won by a candidate who promised to end Israel's conflict with the Palestinians. Tomorrow, for the first time in decades, Israelis may choose a prime minister who is promising to wage war. ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[A]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Promise]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[of]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[War]]></category>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[An Old Mission for George Mitchell]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/22/AR2009012203303.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/22/AR2009012203303.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
			<pubDate>Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ "Israelis and Palestinians are staring into an abyss, facing the prospect of a future marked by years of bloody conflict, political instability and economic stagnation."<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=4930123323628" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=4930123323628" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[An]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Old]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Mission]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[for]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[George]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Mitchell]]></category>
			<media:content url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2009/01/22/PH2009012203477.jpg" type="image/jpeg" height="80" width="72"/>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Hard Lesson for Israel]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/08/AR2009010803203.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/08/AR2009010803203.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
			<pubDate>Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip is failing, but there may be a silver lining. The war against Hamas is proving -- once again -- that the Middle East's extremist movements cannot be eliminated by military means. If the incoming Obama administration absorbs that lesson, it will have a better chance of neutralizing Iranian-backed groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, and of eventually brokering an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement. ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[Hard]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Lesson]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[for]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
			<media:content url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2009/01/08/PH2009010803508.jpg" type="image/jpeg" height="80" width="72"/>
		</item>
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			<title><![CDATA[Olmert's Final Failure]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/28/AR2008122801277.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
			<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/28/AR2008122801277.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
			<pubDate>Mon, 29 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ Israel's new battle with Hamas in Gaza means that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will be remembered for fighting two bloody and wasteful mini-wars in less than three years in power. The first one, in Lebanon during the summer of 2006, punished but failed to defeat or even permanently injure Hezbollah, which is politically and militarily stronger today than it was before Olmert took office. This one will probably have about the same effect on Hamas, which almost certainly will still control Gaza, and retain the capacity to strike Israel, when Olmert leaves office in a few months. ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[Olmert's]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Final]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Failure]]></category>
			<media:content url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2008/12/28/PH2008122801282.jpg" type="image/jpeg" height="80" width="72"/>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Keep the Door Open to Dissidents, Mr. Obama]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/11/AR2008121102952.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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			<pubDate>Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ By now it's commonplace for pundits like me to point out that President Bush has come nowhere close to fulfilling the promise of his second inaugural address, which was that he would commit his government to the spread of freedom and the defense of democratic dissidents around the world. The State Department long ago squelched the president's initial attempts to act on those soaring words in places such as Egypt and Azerbaijan; even worse, many Democrats have reacted to Bush's fecklessness by concluding that the incoming Obama administration should preemptively swear off any attempt to pressure the autocrats of the Islamic world, or powers such as Russia and China, for democratic change. ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
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			<title><![CDATA[How Far Will We Go to Save Georgia?]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/30/AR2008113001709.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ AKHALGORI, Georgia -- At a checkpoint in this rocky region, Russian troops can be seen digging trenches, piling sandbags and stringing fences -- the beginning of what could become a fortified frontier. Before August, Akhalgori was undisputed Georgian territory, populated entirely by ethnic Georgians. Now it is occupied by Russia and its puppet government in the neighboring self-declared republic of South Ossetia.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=4930123328584" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=4930123328584" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[How]]></category>
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			<category><![CDATA[Georgia?]]></category>
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			<title><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl Says Obama Will Have to Decide If He's on the Side of Democratic Reformers in the Middle East]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/16/AR2008111601735.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ Some Europeans danced in the streets when Barack Obama won the U.S. presidential election. Kenya declared a national holiday. In Egypt the celebration was somewhat different: Government-controlled goons burned down the headquarters of the liberal democratic party that tried to embrace President Bush's "freedom agenda." ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
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			<title><![CDATA[A Test That's Sure to Come]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/02/AR2008110201722.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ Of course Joe Biden is right -- there will be an early international crisis to test the new president. There almost always is. In April 2001 -- long before Sept. 11 -- George W. Bush had to react when a U.S. military surveillance aircraft was forced down in China and its crew detained for 11 days. The episode started as an accident, but Beijing used it to measure a new executive with scant international experience. In 1993 Bill Clinton was blindsided by the "Blackhawk Down" firefight in Mogadishu. After 18 U.S. soldiers were killed in an ambush, he abruptly withdrew U.S. forces from Somalia -- and taught Osama bin Laden not to fear American power. ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
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			<title><![CDATA[Ortega Amnesia]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/19/AR2008101901334.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ This is a column about a country that has scarcely been mentioned in the presidential campaign, that has disappeared from the American press and that has essentially been forgotten by Washington -- which is the oddest part of the story. After all, two decades ago Nicaragua and its president, Daniel Ortega, inspired fierce passions here: Democrats and Republicans spent most of a decade bitterly debating whether to fund an armed opposition movement against his Sandinista regime, and senior Reagan administration officials broke the law in order to do so. ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[Ortega]]></category>
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			<title><![CDATA[McCain's Running Mate]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/05/AR2008100501254.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ Never mind Sarah Palin. John McCain has another running mate: Gen. David H. Petraeus.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=4930123332938" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=4930123332938" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
			<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
			<category><![CDATA[McCain's]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Running]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Mate]]></category>
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			<title><![CDATA[A Peace From the Bottom Up]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/21/AR2008092101126.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ Amid the din of the financial crisis and the presidential campaign, the Bush administration's attempt to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal has quietly expired. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's 16 trips to the region over the past 21 months; last year's Annapolis peace conference; months of meetings between Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams -- all have sunk under the weight of the corruption charges against departing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the competition of crises from Georgia to Pakistan. ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
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			<category><![CDATA[A]]></category>
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			<title><![CDATA[The Trouble With Saakashvili]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/07/AR2008090701952.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ The crisis in Georgia had settled by late last week into a test of wills over the survival of Mikheil Saakashvili's pro-Western government. Russia's president called Saakashvili "a political corpse" and said Moscow will no longer deal with him, while the Bush administration rushed him a $1 billion package of aid, delivered in person by Vice President Cheney. U.S. officials portray the rescue of the 40-year-old president as the best way to punish Vladimir Putin's regime for its reckless invasion of its neighbor last month. After all, there's little doubt that Saakashvili's ouster has been a prime Kremlin objective. ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
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			<category><![CDATA[The]]></category>
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			<category><![CDATA[With]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Saakashvili]]></category>
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			<title><![CDATA[In Russia, 'Legal Nihilism' as Usual]]></title>
			<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/27/AR2008072701168.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[ Though he had been handpicked by Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev's inauguration as Russia's president in early May inspired some in the West to hope for real change in the Kremlin. The expectations rested largely on Medvedev's background as a law professor who, unlike Putin, had no history with the Soviet KGB. There was also his surprisingly strong rhetoric about the "legal nihilism" that he said was holding back Russia's "modern development." "We must achieve true respect for the law," the 42-year-old president declared shortly after being sworn in. ]]></description>
			<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jackson Diehl]]></dc:creator>
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			<category><![CDATA[In]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Russia,]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA['Legal]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Nihilism']]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[as]]></category>
			<category><![CDATA[Usual]]></category>
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