Nathaniel C. Fick and Vikram J. Singh: "Winning the battle, losing the faith." The International Herald Tribune. Former U.S. military and defense officers say there is a bigger enemy for the American military in Afghanistan than the Taliban: the fast-falling confidence of the country's people.

Michael Clemens: "Crisis? Not if we take a long view." Global Development: Views from the Center (blog). Stop panicking about the financial crisis and remember that many like it have come (and gone) before it.

"Beggar Thy Neighbor." The Economist. Rumor has it that European banks will be the next to fall, so European governments are following Washington to come up with a bailout plan. Too bad they followed Congress too; bickering has left each country charting its own course.

"In Taiwan's Defense" The Wall Street Journal. Why an arms deal for Taiwan arms the country for moral -- not just mortal -- combat with China.

Andrei Illarionov: "Fighting Financial Fires with Blini." The St. Petersburg Times (Russia). This quote says it all:

In Korney Chukovsky’s classic children’s poem, “Putanitsa” (“The Muddle”), a crocodile is unable to put out a fire with pirogi and blini. Similarly, the fire of Russia’s deep and long-term institutional crisis cannot be extinguished with the financial “pirogi and blini” offered by Russian leaders — particularly when these goodies are doled out only to their close friends."