Guatemala's ornate presidential palace, once a terrifying fortress whose every corridor was patrolled by heavily armed soldiers in berets and camouflage uniforms, is now a normal public building where ordinary citizens enter without fear.
— Stephen Kinzer
Honduras is strongly anti-Communist, maintains no diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, and has provided vital support for United States-backed rebels fighting to overthrow the Sandinistas in neighboring Nicaragua.
Western powers remain imprisoned by the idea that the world is a dangerous place, that it needs to be managed, and that they are called upon to do the managing.
The idea that Arabia is best run by Arabs is no more palatable to Western leaders today than it was to Napoleon or Churchill.
To frustrated Americans who have begun boycotting BP: Welcome to the club. It's great not to be the only member any more!
Relationships based on deals between leaders or ruling elites tend to collapse amid popular anger.
In some countries that are darlings of the West, like Egypt, everyone knows the result of national elections years in advance: The man in power always wins. In others, like Saudi Arabia, the very idea of an election is unthinkable.
Americans overthrew governments only when economic interests coincided with ideological ones.
My general view is the delivery of news is changing in dramatic ways, and will continue to change into ways we can't even predict.
The Afghans are probably the world champions in resisting foreign domination and infiltration into their country.
Because Iran understands Afghanistan far better than Americans do, making Iran a partner in a long-term effort to transform Afghan agriculture makes sense.
There is much to justify Turkey's reverence for Ataturk. He is the force that allowed Turkey to rise from the ashes of defeat and emerge as a vibrant new nation.
As the United States shapes and carries out its policies toward Muslim countries, it should do so with Turkey at its side.
Allowing a friend to careen toward self destruction is not friendship. That is a habit the United States needs to break as it pursues a richer and more deeply supportive relationship with Israel.
The long-term strategic goals of Iran and the long-term strategic goals of Turkey are close to the long-term strategic goals of the United States.
When Prime Minister Erdogan came to Washington in 2009, he sounded almost like the ambassador from Iran.
There is very little hope that the United States or anyone else can do much to stabilize Iraq, Libya, Syria or Egypt. Stabilizing Iran, and bringing it back into the family of nations, is much more possible. That would be a 'win' for both sides.
In fairness, Latin America's elected civilian leaders have made progress in some areas. They have brought their countries back to international respectability, curbed flagrant human rights violations, and sought to build democratic political institutions.
The two largest oil-producing countries in Latin America, Mexico and Venezuela, sold petroleum to Nicaragua at concessional rates for several years beginning in 1980. The program was curtailed because Nicaragua could not make even reduced payments.
During the Cold War, America took sides not only in disputes between Arab countries, but also in debates within them.
After World War II, the winds of nationalism and anti-colonialism blew through the developing world.
The U.S. has intervened more often in more countries farther from its own shores than has any power in modern history.
Because Iranians have had to fight so long and painfully for political freedom, they have a deep appreciation for its value - perhaps deeper than many in the West who take their electoral rights for granted.
No one will ever be able to say what the comandantes would have done with their historic opportunity in Nicaragua if they had not been confronted with civil war.
The fundamentals of what journalism is about don't necessarily change. What will change is the delivery of news.
Accepting that Arabs have the right to elect their own leaders means accepting the rise of governments that do not share America's pro-Israel militancy.
The withdrawal of more than half a million Russian troops and dependents from Germany since 1991 is described by historians as 'the biggest pullout ever by an army not defeated in battle.'
Ataturk approved of the mevlevi dervish approach to God as being 'an expression of Turkish genius' that reclaimed Islam from what he saw as hide-bound, backward Arab tradition.
Emotion is always the enemy of wise statesmanship.
The long conflict between Israel and Palestine has, for better or worse, become the world's conflict. It permanently destabilizes the Middle East, blocks the settlement of urgent crises, and intensifies looming threats to the West.
Turkey can be a bridge to regimes and actions the United States can't reach. Turkey can talk to people the United States can't talk to.
The United States has dealt with the Middle East and surrounding regions for many decades in the context of the Cold War.
'Operation Ajax' presents history in an entirely new way. It takes a true story and uses cutting-edge technology, never before used in this way, to bring it to spectacular life.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Latin America moved decisively away from military rule and toward civilian democracy.
A decision by Germany's highest court that banned the display of crosses or crucifixes in classrooms has sparked widespread outrage and protest.
As British and French imperialism ebbed following the end of the Second World War, America became the main outside player in Arab affairs.
From the 1920s into the 1940s, Britain's standard of living was supported by oil from Iran. British cars, trucks, and buses ran on cheap Iranian oil. Factories throughout Britain were fueled by oil from Iran. The Royal Navy, which projected British power all over the world, powered its ships with Iranian oil.
Many Americans, and many more people around the world, have been outraged by what they see as President George W. Bush's radical reordering of American foreign policy.
Iranians launched their constitutional revolution in 1906 and established their parliament soon afterward.
In 1983, most Nicaraguans had still not fallen to the depths of deprivation and despair which they would reach in later years, but many were already unhappy and restive.
At the end of the day, there is still one function of journalism that cannot be computerized, and that is reporters. You're always going to need reporters.
If a leader comes to office in a seemingly fair election and tolerates dissent, he or she qualifies for our seal of approval.
No offense to Iceland, but Latin America is where the fugitive leaker Edward Snowden should settle.
Without Ataturk's vision, without his ambition and energy, without his astonishing boldness in sweeping away traditions accumulated over centuries, today's Turkey would not exist, and the world would be much poorer.
The reason that Americans have not been able to see the great strategic benefit that could accrue from a closer relationship with Iran is emotion.
Israel deserves special treatment from the United States, both for historical reasons and because there can be no regional peace without a secure Israel.
As long as Iran believes that its security will be increased by having a nuclear program, it's going to pursue its program.
Washington sees the various local and national conflicts in the Middle East as part of a battle for regional hegemony between the U.S. and Iran.
New media and mobile entertainment are revolutionizing the way people learn about the world.
