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The Bush administration’s most critical deception leading up to the war in Iraq had nothing to do with Valerie Plame or yellowcake from Niger.

There was never any doubt that Hosni Mubarak would win Egypts presidential election. But look a little further down the road, and you just might see a refreshingly uncertain path for Egyptian politics.

Each G-8 leader has an agenda to advance at Gleneagles. What does each politician want, and how likely is he to get it?

The recent democratic revolutions in Georgia, Ukraine, and Kirgizstan sent small tremors through China’s leadership. To avoid its own “color revolution” Beijing is now quietly cracking down on those who would dare to show dissent. Its primary target? China’s civil society.

Parliamentary elections are supposed to be Afghanistan's first steps toward stable democracy. But the rules and logistics of Sunday’s elections leave the door open to violence, vote rigging, and political gridlock.

Think rioting in France and recent rejections of the European Union Constitution signal the end of the Europe? Not so. The European Union is still a model citizen, it just does a lousy job of selling itself at home and abroad. It’s time for Brussels to learn its own brand.

As Syria sweats out a U.N. inquiry and international scrutiny, Lebanon faces a predicament of its own: Can anyone disarm Hezbollah, the 800-pound gorilla of Lebanese politics?

Iraq may be the jihad Superbowl, but Saudi Arabia is still al Qaeda’s top prize. Watch closely, because the quiet in the kingdom today may be the calm before the storm.

With all the headlines on the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs, it’s easy to think that the world is witnessing a boom in the number of nuclear-armed countries. Don’t count on it. Low demand for nukes, coupled with more targeted nonproliferation diplomacy, will ensure that the nuclear club remains small and exclusive.

Should the United Nations control the Internet? That’s the subject of a heated debate slated to take place at the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis later this month. The European Union is pressing for a U.N. role in governing the Internet, which is currently in the hands of a U.S. nonprofit. Lawrence Lessig breaks down the debate and offers his views.

An Iranian group has killed American civilians, allied itself with Saddam Hussein, and holds a spot on the State Department’s terrorist watch list. So why might it become America’s newest friend in the Middle East? Hint: Tehran.