BRUSSELS - The mood on China in Western capitals is beginning to darken. From cyber-attacks to obstinacy in Copenhagen, Beijing’s assertiveness and the hardening tone of its diplomacy are prompting a rethink.

WASHINGTON - Israel last week submitted its response to the UN’s Goldstone Report.  That report investigated the conduct of Israel and Hamas during the Gaza war in January 2009, accusing both sides of war crimes.

In his influential work, The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and its Geostrategic Imperatives, published in 1997, Zbigniew Brzezinski suggests that:

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.