Goodbye 'freedom fries': France’s mojo rises over Syria

In the lead-up to the Iraq War, the French were "cheese-eating surrender monkeys". A decade later, France is now America's staunchest ally on Syria. How did France turn from a white flag-fluttering country to a red-blooded nation of hawks?

Goodbye Haqqani, Hello Rehman, Pakistan’s New Woman on the Job

There are two men at the center of Pakistan’s “memogate” scandal: the whistleblower and the victim. They come from the opposite ends of the credibility spectrum. Now one man’s gone and there’s a woman replacing him. End of story? Oh no.

Money and Mangoes: Clinton Buys ‘The Love’ in Pakistan

She came, she made the appropriate noises about partnerships, she even praised the local mangoes, which was well received by the local press. The independent Geo TV happily reported that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had “bought and savored” Pakistani mangoes during her recent visit and proclaimed them “delicious”.
 

What does it take for a US Secretary of State to be favorably covered by the alarmingly anti-American Pakistani media? It’s money, not mangoes. And Clinton came in offering billions of it.
 

Under the Kerry Lugar Bill, named after US Senators John Kerry (Democrat) and Richard Lugar (Republican), which was passed by Congress last year, Washington has committed to $7.5 billion economic and development aid to Pakistan over the next five years.