Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. is leaving on a jet plane for Israel tomorrow to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to learn more about foreign policy issues that affect the region today. more ›

In their latest round of ranking the top global cities in the world, Foreign Policy magazine ranks us, the City of Chicago, at sixth overall, just behind Hong Kong and ahead of L.A. New York City is tops overall and Chicago is the second highest U.S. city. more ›

President Obama addressed the nation last night on his plans for the War in Afghanistan, speaking from West Point. He began with a brief history lesson, running down the conflict's connection to the 9/11 attacks, and acknowledging the distracting effect that Iraq has had on prosecuting this war, before moving into the broad terms of how his administration will bring the war in Afghanistan "to a successful conclusion." He laid out three parts to his strategy, videlicet that the U.S. will pursue a military strategy intended to break the Taliban and strengthen Afghanistan over the next 18 months; that the U.S. will work with our allies, the UN, and Afghanis for a civilian strategy that allow the Afghani government to take advantage of improved security in the region; and embracing a broader role with Pakistan as a key partner in Afghanistan's future security. And, always a fan of multi-pronged rhetorical flourishes, Obama took on critiques of the war in three-part form as well, contending that it was not another Vietnam, that maintaining current troop levels will not work, and that open-ended commitments will not be tolerated by his administration. more ›

Though I’m a staunch defender of Chicagoist’s editorial we, and abhor anything that smacks of grandstanding, I’m also not without an ego. So permit me a brief indulgence as (per precedent) I take a moment to rock some first-person singular and say goodbye. more ›