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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich urged Congress Tuesday to "vote no" on a military strike against Syria and instead begin debate on what he described as even bigger strategic challenges for the United States and the world. "The most powerful nation in the world does not need a three- or four-week debate about a limited, symbolic, tactical use of power," the Georgia Republican wrote Tuesday in an opinion piece for CNN, as he urged Congress to "vote no on a meaningless public relations use of military force against [Syrian President Bashar Assad]. "What we do need are three debates about...

The Big Picture photography competition: round 57 [See several enchanting pics in URL] This week's Big Picture winner - and recipient of a Nikon CoolPix P6000 camera worth £379.99 - is Martin Brown from London for this picture of girls in traditional dress for a religious festival in Delhi, India. Read on to see this week's other shortlisted entries...

Senate GOP candidate slams party By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer Published: Tuesday, July 25, 2006 Updated: Tuesday, July 25, 2006 WASHINGTON (AP) - A Republican in a competitive Senate race called his party affiliation "an impediment," said he'd "probably not" want President Bush to campaign for him and the GOP-controlled Congress should "just shut up and get something done." Michael Steele's campaign confirmed Tuesday that the Maryland lieutenant governor was the Senate candidate who made the comments a day earlier on the condition reporters not identify him. However, the campaign said his remarks were only a sampling of the...

Here I am, typing on the laptop, music humming in the ears, surveying the news. I'll be leaving soon for an Anatomy class, so I need to come up with a provocative topic. But what is there to write about? I could write about the presidential race and the debate that, by the time you read this, will have already been over. The horse race between President Bush and Sen. Kerry has been boring to me since the beginning. I was at Barnes and Noble not too long ago and I saw the cover of the latest Reason magazine. The...

The Nexus of Culture and Foreign PolicyBy Herbert London In policy disputes culture – however ambiguously defined – trumps most other characteristics including money, enthusiasm, even courage. By culture I’m referring to the habits of mind that are cultivated by the institutions in a given society. If one relies on a Tocquevillian interpretation of national character, the U.S. he observed was a nation that encouraged liberty and individualism, but it also fostered associations and communal ties. More recently, David Putman argued that Americans have been so seduced by television viewing they are accustomed to watching alone and “bowling alone”....

Thinking About Iraq (I) By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN As the decision on Iraq approaches, I, like so many Americans, have had to ask myself: What do you really think? Today I explain why I think liberals under-appreciate the value of removing Saddam Hussein. And on Sunday I will explain why conservatives under-appreciate the risks of doing so — and how we should balance the two. What liberals fail to recognize is that regime change in Iraq is not some distraction from the war on Al Qaeda. That is a bogus argument. And simply because oil is also at stake in...