Richard Holbrooke: “I want to underscore the core difference between Vietnam and Afghanistan-Pakistan. And it is 9/11.”

The phrase 'Kerry-Lugar' has a talismanic quality in the Pakistani press now. It's not just the amount of money, it's the fact that it is now read as a symbol of our intentions to stick around and be serious about it.

Why are we in Afghanistan? The short, simple answer is: 9/11, direct threats to our national security interests.

The reason we consider it one of, if not the, highest strategic priority of this administration is because they directly threaten us.

Haiti's vulnerability to natural disaster is not just a matter of weak building codes and poor infrastructure, but, more fundamentally, the result of having an exceptionally weak state.