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<title><![CDATA[washingtonpost.com - David Ignatius Archive]]></title>
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<title><![CDATA[Doom for the Democrats as joblessness lingers]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/27/AR2009112702323.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/27/AR2009112702323.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ For a political horror show, fast-forward to the summer of 2010: The unemployment rate is stubbornly high, hovering between 9.3 and 9.7 percent. Companies are wary about hiring more workers because the economy remains soft. Small businesses, which normally power a recovery, are caught in a credit squeeze. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[Doom]]></category><category><![CDATA[for]]></category><category><![CDATA[the]]></category><category><![CDATA[Democrats]]></category><category><![CDATA[as]]></category><category><![CDATA[joblessness]]></category><category><![CDATA[lingers]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[Biden doubts weighed in developing Afghan strategy]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/25/AR2009112502652.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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<pubDate>Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ With President Obama finally ready to announce his decision about Afghanistan, it's a good time to examine the role played by Vice President Biden, who emerged during the policy review as the administration's in-house skeptic -- the "questioner in chief," as one insider puts it. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[Biden]]></category><category><![CDATA[doubts]]></category><category><![CDATA[weighed]]></category><category><![CDATA[in]]></category><category><![CDATA[developing]]></category><category><![CDATA[Afghan]]></category><category><![CDATA[strategy]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[David Ignatius: The U.S. may again try a tribal strategy]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/20/AR2009112002617.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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<pubDate>Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ While military officers wait for President Obama to conclude his agonizingly slow review of Afghanistan policy, they've been reading a paper by an Army Special Forces operative arguing that the only hope for success in that country is to work with tribal leaders. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[David]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ignatius:]]></category><category><![CDATA[The]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S.]]></category><category><![CDATA[may]]></category><category><![CDATA[again]]></category><category><![CDATA[try]]></category><category><![CDATA[a]]></category><category><![CDATA[tribal]]></category><category><![CDATA[strategy]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[David Ignatius on building a Palestinian state]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/18/AR2009111802698.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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<pubDate>Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ RAMALLAH, WEST BANK<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=482865904608" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=482865904608" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[David]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ignatius]]></category><category><![CDATA[on]]></category><category><![CDATA[building]]></category><category><![CDATA[a]]></category><category><![CDATA[Palestinian]]></category><category><![CDATA[state]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[David Ignatius on efforts to curb the Federal Reserve]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/13/AR2009111303331.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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<pubDate>Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Among the cherished prerogatives of members of Congress is the right to second-guess. That ritual is playing itself out with a vengeance as the solons of Capitol Hill attack the Federal Reserve for its role in last year's financial crisis. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[David]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ignatius]]></category><category><![CDATA[on]]></category><category><![CDATA[efforts]]></category><category><![CDATA[to]]></category><category><![CDATA[curb]]></category><category><![CDATA[the]]></category><category><![CDATA[Federal]]></category><category><![CDATA[Reserve]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[David Ignatius on saluting the military]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/10/AR2009111013408.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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<pubDate>Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ In the aftermath of the Fort Hood shootings, some commentaries have examined the damage to the U.S. Army from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A few have spoken about the alleged shooter, Maj. Nidal M. Hasan, as an extreme version of what can happen with an overstressed force. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[David]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ignatius]]></category><category><![CDATA[on]]></category><category><![CDATA[saluting]]></category><category><![CDATA[the]]></category><category><![CDATA[military]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[David Ignatius on Iran's need for an American enemy]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/06/AR2009110603072.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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<pubDate>Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ T he Iranians have a word they use to describe a political impasse. They speak of it as a bombast, which means a dead-end street, or a knot that can't be untied. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[David]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ignatius]]></category><category><![CDATA[on]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iran's]]></category><category><![CDATA[need]]></category><category><![CDATA[for]]></category><category><![CDATA[an]]></category><category><![CDATA[American]]></category><category><![CDATA[enemy]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[David Ignatius on reforming Karzai's regime in Afghanistan]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/03/AR2009110302626.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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<pubDate>Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ With the "reelection" of President Hamid Karzai, if that's the right word for a process that featured fraudulent balloting and a canceled runoff, the United States now confronts the hardest puzzle of all about Afghanistan: How to improve governance -- which most experts agree is essential to defeating the Taliban -- without taking even more control from Afghan officials?<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=482865916073" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=482865916073" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[David]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ignatius]]></category><category><![CDATA[on]]></category><category><![CDATA[reforming]]></category><category><![CDATA[Karzai's]]></category><category><![CDATA[regime]]></category><category><![CDATA[in]]></category><category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[David Ignatius on mixing hard and soft tactics in Afghanistan]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/30/AR2009103002862.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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<pubDate>Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ BARAKI BARAK, AFGHANISTAN ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[David]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ignatius]]></category><category><![CDATA[on]]></category><category><![CDATA[mixing]]></category><category><![CDATA[hard]]></category><category><![CDATA[and]]></category><category><![CDATA[soft]]></category><category><![CDATA[tactics]]></category><category><![CDATA[in]]></category><category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[David Ignatius on why Obama should send more troops to Afghanistan]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/29/AR2009102903921.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/29/AR2009102903921.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN Here's what you would see if you traveled this week to Kandahar and Helmand provinces, the two big battlegrounds of the Afghanistan war: a conflict that is balanced tenuously between success and failure. The United States has deployed enough troops to disrupt the Taliban insurgency and draw increasing fire, but not enough to secure the major population centers. That's not a viable position. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[David]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ignatius]]></category><category><![CDATA[on]]></category><category><![CDATA[why]]></category><category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category><category><![CDATA[should]]></category><category><![CDATA[send]]></category><category><![CDATA[more]]></category><category><![CDATA[troops]]></category><category><![CDATA[to]]></category><category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[David Ignatius on Baghdad's day of horror]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/25/AR2009102502033.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/25/AR2009102502033.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ BAGHDAD From the air Sunday morning, this looked like a city restored. You could see paddle boats skimming the pond at Zawra Park, and go-karts and waterslides. And in every direction, new schools and soccer fields and bustling warehouses -- all taking shape under the canopy of the new Iraq. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[David]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ignatius]]></category><category><![CDATA[on]]></category><category><![CDATA[Baghdad's]]></category><category><![CDATA[day]]></category><category><![CDATA[of]]></category><category><![CDATA[horror]]></category>
<media:content url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2009/10/25/PH2009102502268.jpg" type="image/jpeg" height="80" width="72"/>
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<title><![CDATA[David Ignatius on Waziristan and the British experience]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/23/AR2009102303190.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/23/AR2009102303190.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ ISLAMABAD<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=482865920077" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=482865920077" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[David]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ignatius]]></category><category><![CDATA[on]]></category><category><![CDATA[Waziristan]]></category><category><![CDATA[and]]></category><category><![CDATA[the]]></category><category><![CDATA[British]]></category><category><![CDATA[experience]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[Pakistan takes on the Taliban in South Waziristan]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/21/AR2009102102848.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/21/AR2009102102848.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN Until a few months ago, Pakistani officials often used the term "miscreants" when they described the Taliban fighters operating from the western tribal areas. This moniker conveyed the sense that the Taliban was a nuisance -- a ragtag band of fanatics and gangsters who could be placated with peace deals -- rather than a mortal threat to the nation. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[takes]]></category><category><![CDATA[on]]></category><category><![CDATA[the]]></category><category><![CDATA[Taliban]]></category><category><![CDATA[in]]></category><category><![CDATA[South]]></category><category><![CDATA[Waziristan]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[Technical Hitch May Weaken Iran Nuclear Threat]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/15/AR2009101502761.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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<pubDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Since you're probably not a regular reader of the trade publication Nucleonics Week, let me summarize an article that appeared in its Oct. 8 issue. It reported that Iran's supply of low-enriched uranium -- the potential feedstock for nuclear bombs -- appears to have certain "impurities" that "could cause centrifuges to fail" if the Iranians try to boost it to weapons grade. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[Technical]]></category><category><![CDATA[Hitch]]></category><category><![CDATA[May]]></category><category><![CDATA[Weaken]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category><category><![CDATA[Nuclear]]></category><category><![CDATA[Threat]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[President Obama's Crucial Afghanistan Decision]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/14/AR2009101402872.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/14/AR2009101402872.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Afghanistan could be the most important decision of Barack Obama's presidency. Maybe that's why he is, in effect, making it twice. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[President]]></category><category><![CDATA[Obama's]]></category><category><![CDATA[Crucial]]></category><category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Decision]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[Legislation to Needlessly Stir Up Pakistan]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/09/AR2009100902851.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/09/AR2009100902851.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ It's a classic example of the law of unintended consequences: Congress triples its assistance to Pakistan as part of a deepening strategic relationship. But members of Congress, always eager to tell other countries what to do, insert conditions that Pakistanis find insulting. As a result, rather than welcoming American aid and friendship, Pakistanis are indignant at U.S. meddling.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=482865924906" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=482865924906" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[Legislation]]></category><category><![CDATA[to]]></category><category><![CDATA[Needlessly]]></category><category><![CDATA[Stir]]></category><category><![CDATA[Up]]></category><category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[An Afghan Test for the Obama Doctrine]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/07/AR2009100703044.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/07/AR2009100703044.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Is there an "Obama Doctrine" lurking among the zigs and zags of the president's foreign policy over these first nine months? I think there is, in his repeated invocation of global rights and responsibilities. The problem is that this lawyerly framework hasn't been applied to the really tough issues, such as what to do in Afghanistan. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[An]]></category><category><![CDATA[Afghan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Test]]></category><category><![CDATA[for]]></category><category><![CDATA[the]]></category><category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category><category><![CDATA[Doctrine]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[Pakistan's Model for Fighting Terrorism]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/02/AR2009100202889.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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<pubDate>Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ SWAT VALLEY, Pakistan --  A visit to this battlefield of Pakistan's war against the Taliban left one indelible image -- of a teenage boy's beaming smile of relief -- that conveys what a successful counterinsurgency campaign is all about. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[Pakistan's]]></category><category><![CDATA[Model]]></category><category><![CDATA[for]]></category><category><![CDATA[Fighting]]></category><category><![CDATA[Terrorism]]></category>
<media:content url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2009/10/02/PH2009100205382.jpg" type="image/jpeg" height="80" width="72"/>
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<title><![CDATA[Pakistan Prepares to Retake Control of al-Qaeda, Taliban Haven]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/30/AR2009093003568.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
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<pubDate>Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ WANA, Pakistan -- The zigzag trip to this garrison town deep in the tribal area of South Waziristan tells a story that's more than a century old: The fierce Mehsud tribe and its allies are a law unto themselves in these rugged mountains, and wise travelers steer clear of their strongholds. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Prepares]]></category><category><![CDATA[to]]></category><category><![CDATA[Retake]]></category><category><![CDATA[Control]]></category><category><![CDATA[of]]></category><category><![CDATA[al-Qaeda,]]></category><category><![CDATA[Taliban]]></category><category><![CDATA[Haven]]></category>
<media:content url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2009/09/30/PH2009093004640.jpg" type="image/jpeg" height="80" width="72"/>
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<title><![CDATA[Afghan War Exposes Strains Between U.S., Pakistan]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/28/AR2009092802485.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/28/AR2009092802485.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ ISLAMABAD -- The headquarters of Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence directorate is a black-ribbed stucco building in the Aabpara neighborhood of the capital. Its operatives, described by wary Pakistanis as "the boys from Aabpara," play a powerful and mysterious role in the life of the country. Their "tentacles," as one ISI officer terms the agency's spy networks, stretch deep into neighboring Afghanistan.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=482865929757" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=482865929757" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[Afghan]]></category><category><![CDATA[War]]></category><category><![CDATA[Exposes]]></category><category><![CDATA[Strains]]></category><category><![CDATA[Between]]></category><category><![CDATA[U.S.,]]></category><category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[How Hedge Funds Got It Right on Incentives]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/24/AR2009092404187.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/24/AR2009092404187.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ LONDON --  When you think about future financial stability, ask yourself this contrarian question: Why is it that the nefarious hedge funds, supposedly the bad boys of the financial world, came through last year's crisis in relatively good shape? ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[How]]></category><category><![CDATA[Hedge]]></category><category><![CDATA[Funds]]></category><category><![CDATA[Got]]></category><category><![CDATA[It]]></category><category><![CDATA[Right]]></category><category><![CDATA[on]]></category><category><![CDATA[Incentives]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[Afghanistan Through British Eyes]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/23/AR2009092303680.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/23/AR2009092303680.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ LONDON -- When it comes to Afghanistan, the British have a special perspective: Every mistake the United States has made recently, they made 150 years ago. So it's worth listening to British experts in the debate over Afghan strategy. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[Through]]></category><category><![CDATA[British]]></category><category><![CDATA[Eyes]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[Why a Deal With Iran Is Unlikely Under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/18/AR2009091802144.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/18/AR2009091802144.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ LONDON -- The central question about Iran, as Henry Kissinger has observed, is whether it wants to be a nation or a cause. In the case of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, it's clearly a revolutionary cause. He has said as much himself in an intriguing and occasionally bizarre series of public letters to America over the past three years. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[Why]]></category><category><![CDATA[a]]></category><category><![CDATA[Deal]]></category><category><![CDATA[With]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category><category><![CDATA[Is]]></category><category><![CDATA[Unlikely]]></category><category><![CDATA[Under]]></category><category><![CDATA[Mahmoud]]></category><category><![CDATA[Ahmadinejad]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[Building a 'Citizen-Centric' CIA]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/16/AR2009091602764.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/16/AR2009091602764.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ PARIS --  The gauzy romance and the gritty political reality of the spy business came into focus in two encounters in Europe this week. If the two can be linked, maybe there's a chance of easing the destructive battles between Congress and the CIA.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=482865934042" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=482865934042" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[Building]]></category><category><![CDATA[a]]></category><category><![CDATA['Citizen-Centric']]></category><category><![CDATA[CIA]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[An Iraq Security Framework Via Its Neighbors]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/11/AR2009091103324.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/11/AR2009091103324.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ How can America help a fragile Iraq as U.S. troops and influence there decline? The Obama administration should revisit one of the good ideas proposed by the 2006 Baker-Hamilton commission -- namely an "international support group" that can draw together the neighboring countries to keep Iraq from blowing apart. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[An]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category><category><![CDATA[Security]]></category><category><![CDATA[Framework]]></category><category><![CDATA[Via]]></category><category><![CDATA[Its]]></category><category><![CDATA[Neighbors]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[U.S. Must Navigate Through Iran's Power Struggle]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/09/AR2009090902208.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/09/AR2009090902208.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ The political situation in Iran remains murky, to put it mildly, in the aftermath of June's turbulent election. But some clues can be found in the recent purge of the country's intelligence service. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[U.S.]]></category><category><![CDATA[Must]]></category><category><![CDATA[Navigate]]></category><category><![CDATA[Through]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iran's]]></category><category><![CDATA[Power]]></category><category><![CDATA[Struggle]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[The Cleveland Clinic Way to Health-Care Reform]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/04/AR2009090402970.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/04/AR2009090402970.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 06 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ When President Obama visited the Cleveland Clinic in July, he lauded its innovative approach to low-cost, high-quality health care: "They've set up a system where patient care is the No. 1 concern, not bureaucracy," he said. "Those are changes that I think the American people want to see." ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[The]]></category><category><![CDATA[Cleveland]]></category><category><![CDATA[Clinic]]></category><category><![CDATA[Way]]></category><category><![CDATA[to]]></category><category><![CDATA[Health-Care]]></category><category><![CDATA[Reform]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[Roll the Dice on Afghanistan]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/01/AR2009090103429.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/01/AR2009090103429.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ It's the nature of Afghanistan that nothing there ever works out quite the way outsiders expect, and that certainly was the case with last month's presidential election. Rather than producing a mandate for good governance, as U.S. officials once hoped, the balloting has instead brought allegations of fraud, political squabbling and delay, and a new set of headaches in the war against the Taliban.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=482865941832" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=482865941832" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[Roll]]></category><category><![CDATA[the]]></category><category><![CDATA[Dice]]></category><category><![CDATA[on]]></category><category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[A Sigh of Relief From the CIA]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/25/AR2009082502642.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/25/AR2009082502642.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ "Let's get on with it." That was a signature line of the late CIA director Richard Helms, the savviest spymaster this country has produced. And it's the right watchword for the agency as it tries to refocus on its core intelligence mission after a ruinous foray into the "enhanced interrogation" of al-Qaeda prisoners. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[A]]></category><category><![CDATA[Sigh]]></category><category><![CDATA[of]]></category><category><![CDATA[Relief]]></category><category><![CDATA[From]]></category><category><![CDATA[the]]></category><category><![CDATA[CIA]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[Iraq's Iranian Connection]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/24/AR2009082402491.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/24/AR2009082402491.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ As security deteriorates in Baghdad, there's a new cause for worry: The head of the U.S.-trained Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS) has quit in a long-running quarrel with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki -- depriving that country of a key leader in the fight against sectarian terrorism. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[Iraq's]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iranian]]></category><category><![CDATA[Connection]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[Afghanistan and Mideast Pose Big Tests for Obama]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/21/AR2009082102311.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/21/AR2009082102311.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 23 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ It's crunch time for the Obama administration on two of its toughest foreign policy challenges -- the Arab-Israeli peace process and the war in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, these tests are coming at a moment when Obama is weakened by the health-care debate and has less political capital to spend. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category><category><![CDATA[and]]></category><category><![CDATA[Mideast]]></category><category><![CDATA[Pose]]></category><category><![CDATA[Big]]></category><category><![CDATA[Tests]]></category><category><![CDATA[for]]></category><category><![CDATA[Obama]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[Time to Follow the Doctor's Orders on Health Care]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/19/AR2009081902261.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/19/AR2009081902261.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Reading the transcripts of President Obama's "town hall meetings" this month on heath-care reform is painful. He's preaching the right gospel, but the parishioners are getting restless. The harder he tries to sell his program, the louder and angrier the debate gets -- and the more the general public tunes out the politicians.<br clear="all"/><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=482865946205" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/wpni.rss/opinion/columns;pos=ad9;tile=9;ad=rss;sz=479x40;ord=482865946205" border="0" vspace="5"></a> ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[Time]]></category><category><![CDATA[to]]></category><category><![CDATA[Follow]]></category><category><![CDATA[the]]></category><category><![CDATA[Doctor's]]></category><category><![CDATA[Orders]]></category><category><![CDATA[on]]></category><category><![CDATA[Health]]></category><category><![CDATA[Care]]></category>
<media:content url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2009/08/20/PH2009082003470.jpg" type="image/jpeg" height="80" width="72"/>
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<title><![CDATA[Let Iran Founder for a Moment]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/31/AR2009073102610.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/31/AR2009073102610.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 02 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Thinking about Iran policy these days can make you dizzy, so let's try a simple analogy: The neighborhood troublemaker has driven his car off the road and is stuck in a ditch. He is gunning his engine but just spinning his wheels. What should we do? ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[Let]]></category><category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category><category><![CDATA[Founder]]></category><category><![CDATA[for]]></category><category><![CDATA[a]]></category><category><![CDATA[Moment]]></category>
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<title><![CDATA[Dial Back the Security Paranoia for Public Officials]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/29/AR2009072902627.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/29/AR2009072902627.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ It was an unsettling image: Arrayed in front of the neighborhood barbershop last week were four burly men with the characteristic earpieces and bulky suits that marked them as security officers. Inside, gracing the barber's chair, was the well-trimmed director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Robert Mueller. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[Dial]]></category><category><![CDATA[Back]]></category><category><![CDATA[the]]></category><category><![CDATA[Security]]></category><category><![CDATA[Paranoia]]></category><category><![CDATA[for]]></category><category><![CDATA[Public]]></category><category><![CDATA[Officials]]></category>
<media:content url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2009/07/29/PH2009072903366.jpg" type="image/jpeg" height="80" width="72"/>
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<title><![CDATA[Life in the Rehab Economy]]></title>
<link>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/24/AR2009072401954.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</link>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/24/AR2009072401954.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 26 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ The stock market's surge last week could almost make you think that the go-go years are coming back. But listening to Obama administration officials and business leaders over the past few weeks, I drew a less rosy picture of our economic future. Our recovery is likely to be a "V" shape so wide it looks like an "L," gradually sloping upward as America recovers from the long, debt-fueled boom that began in the 1980s. ]]></description>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Ignatius]]></dc:creator>
<category domain="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinion/index.html">Opinions</category>
<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category><category><![CDATA[in]]></category><category><![CDATA[the]]></category><category><![CDATA[Rehab]]></category><category><![CDATA[Economy]]></category>
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