By George Friedman

The United States has been fighting a war in the Islamic world since 2001. Its main theaters of operation are in Afghanistan and Iraq, but its politico-military focus spreads throughout the Islamic world, from Mindanao to Morocco. The situation on Aug. 7, 2008, was as follows:

The war in Iraq was moving toward an acceptable but not optimal solution. The government in Baghdad was not pro-American, but neither was it an Iranian puppet, and that was the best that could be hoped for. The United States anticipated pulling out troops, but not in a disorderly fashion.

Read more...

By President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia

Today is the 11th of September, a special day, a day when a terrorist act occurred in the United States of America. This is a sad day for the United States and for all countries that suffer from terrorism. Unfortunately, the terrorist threat remains real. Humankind has not overcome this challenge and the Russian Federation is ready for coordinated, full-value cooperation with the United States and with other countries in combating terrorism. We believe this is our top priority and we believe that this is much more useful for the United States than to develop relations with rotten regimes engaged in military adventures.At a meeting today we are going to discuss the acquisition of new weapons, creating new types of weapons and.... upgrading of the image of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the coming years. We need modern, effective Armed Forces, and this is one of the key tasks of the state.

Read more...