The great drama of Russian history has been between its state and society. Put simply, Russia has always had too much state and not enough society.

One of the things that has been very difficult in Libya is the sense of uncertainty - the sense that they haven't actually finished the revolution, that there was still a great deal of uncertainty. That uncertainty has made Libya harder for business in terms of oil and other things as well.

Intelligence is called the world's second oldest profession for a reason. Everyone does it.

I think it is quite untrue that it is standard journalistic practice to name the interviewer when quoting from an interview.

If there is one lesson for U.S. foreign policy from the past 10 years, it is surely that military intervention can seem simple but is in fact a complex affair with the potential for unintended consequences.

In the 1990s, we were certain that Saddam Hussein had a nuclear arsenal. In fact, his factories could barely make soap.

Politics and power is a realm of relative influence.