If you are not prepared to go to war, you cannot threaten that “nothing is off the table” as you search for diplomatic solutions. Thus there are completed plans, updated daily, at Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv and at the Pentagon for carrying out attacks on Iranian facilities in a last-ditch effort to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Read full article > >

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At the Pentagon and in Israel, plans show the difficulties of an Iran strike

Twenty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, one thing is increasingly clear: Boy, do the Republicans miss communism. For Republicans, being anti-communist didn’t merely mean opposition to the Soviets and their ideology. That kind of anti-communism was all but universal in the United States, from the Republican right to the small, democratic socialist left (and encompassing European socialists as well). For the 45 years after World War II, however, anti-communism was also the Republicans’ ultimate wedge issue in U.S. politics. Read full article > >

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The GOP scrambles for a bogeyman

UN Chief Ban Ki-moon says the Arab League plans to revive its mission to Syria and accuses Damascus of stepping up “war on its own people”.

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Arab Syria mission ‘may resume’

Social worker tried to warn authorities.

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911 Call: Powell ‘Exploded’ House

In both style and substance, Sherry Rehman was born to be a Washington diplomat and hostess. She has a designer wardrobe, a chestnut coif and camera-ready makeup. She also has a BA from Smith, a CV full of democratic credentials and the articulate self-confidence of her country’s Westernized elite. Read full article > >

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Pakistan’s new envoy brings liberal charm but faces slim chance for diplomatic thaw

The CIA is expected to maintain a large clandestine presence in Iraq and Afghanistan long after the departure of conventional U.S. troops as part of a plan by the Obama administration to rely on a combination of spies and Special Operations forces to protect U.S. interests in the two longtime war zones, U.S. officials said. Read full article > >

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CIA digs in as Americans withdraw from Iraq, Afghanistan

Michael Copperthite has butter, sugar and flour in his blood. His great-great-grandfather was Henry Copperthite, the so-called “Pie King” of Georgetown and founder of the Connecticut-Copperthite Pie Co. Michael loves nothing more than to wax poetic about his family, a line of piemakers dating to the Civil War era. Read full article > >

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Resurrecting a slice of history? Easy as pie.

JERUSALEM — A Jerusalem court ruled has ruled against plans to build a luxury housing development on the remains of a Palestinian village abandoned in the 1948 war that followed the establishment of Israel. Read full article > >

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Israeli court grants reprieve to abandoned Palestinian village

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is testifying before the Senate Budget Committee Tuesday morning about the state of the U.S. economy and the nation’s fiscal health. Bernanke is expected to warn lawmakers against impeding near-term economic growth in the name of cutting a long-term budget deficit. And he is expected to defend the Fed’s policy of keeping interest rates near zero to stimulate the economy — all in line with Bernanke’s testimony last week before the House Budget Committee. Read full article > >

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Bernanke expected to warn lawmakers against hampering growth

The UK could face a growing threat from “lone wolf” terrorists returning from fighting overseas in the next few years, a think tank warns.

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‘Lone wolf’ terror threat warning

As MF Global careened toward bankruptcy in October, the brokerage firm used customer funds to bankroll its business, apparently assuming that the money would be put back by the end of each day, a trustee overseeing the firm’s liquidation reported Monday. Read full article > >

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Trustee says MF Global sustained itself on customer funds

The Daily Mail’s editor was aware the paper was using private detectives but not of the extent to which it was doing so, the Leveson Inquiry hears.

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Mail editor ‘knew of detectives’

Prince William’s deployment to the Falkland Islands, along with that of a warship, is “entirely routine”, the UK foreign secretary says.

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Prince’s Falklands duty ‘routine’

The casino magnate Sheldon Adelson has relayed assurances that he will donate millions more toward defeating President Obama even if his candidate is not the nominee, associates said.

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Gingrich Patron Adelson Called Open to Aiding Romney

Forecasters are warning of widespread ice on Sunday as the worst of the wintry weather begins to ease across Wales.

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Warning over icy road conditions