A renewed global effort against terrorism is too important, complex and costly to be waged in secret. We need political openness and a serious, comprehensive evaluation of whether this strategy is most prudent for the nation on the whole.

A US blockade would strengthen the sanctions regime against Iran while demonstrating that the United States would be willing to move beyond negotiations and diplomacy if necessary. A similar gambit worked against Cuba and may have prevented a Soviet-American WWIII; perhaps now such an intermediate move could resolve this current crisis.

In a seemingly unending war, President Obama has chosen to replace General McChrystal with General David Petraeus as head of the US troops in Afghanistan. His political and diplomatic abilities will greatly complement his military skills as we move forward in Afghanistan.

Failing to ratify the treaty would be a major foreign policy blunder that could seriously damage diplomatic relations with Russia and even open the door for a renewed nuclear arms race. Unless the Senate wishes to create new challenges to American security and international stability, it must ratify New Start.

At this moment of diplomatic flux, the United States may have an opportunity to push Chinese policy towards North Korea in a more responsible direction. China’s immense leverage over Pyongyang in the form of food, energy, and other aid could be transformed into an asset in halting Korea’s belligerence and proliferation.

The treaty potentially sets the stage for more ambitious nuclear arms reduction measures in the future. However, the treaty itself is a cautious agreement reflecting unfortunate political realities, and does little to bring the world closer to eliminating the threat of nuclear weapons.

The challenge for Palestinians will be to resist the atmosphere of frustration and violence in order to maintain the nonviolent resistance movement for as long as it will take to see results. And Israel must find a way to protect its national security without itself sparking violence.

Recent North Korean actions, such as the torpedoing of a South Korean naval ship emphasized the lack of influence countries like the United States and China have on Kim Jong-Il. Continued security in the region will depend on the United States’ ability to win Beijing’s support for the actions the US takes.

Presidents Obama and Medvedev have begun negotiating a New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). New START, however, has drawn criticism from numerous Republican senators, including John McCain, greatly polarizing the issue and hindering a treaty critical to the continued security of America.

The key to successfully driving al-Qaeda out of Yemen is not to continue attacking its strongholds. The means of finding a lasting solution for Yemen is to help stabilize the government, which would allow it to deal with the local faction of al-Qaeda on its own.