WASHINGTON — World leaders meeting in London to discuss Afghanistan’s future have dealt themselves a weak hand.   The principal obstacles to success in Afghanistan have not been the adversary’s strength or any lack of support for the international mission by the Afghan public.   Rather, the primary obstacles to victory have been Western temporizing, [...]

Read the full story

WASHINGTON — In the early 2000s, the issue of Muslim schoolgirls, teachers, and civil servants wearing headscarves in public institutions and schools was a heated national debate in France and a source of discussion and controversy around the world. In 2009, President Nicholas Sarkozy rekindled the flames of that debate with statements condemning the burqa [...]

Read the full story