Inspired by the regime collapses in Egypt and Tunisia, opposition groups in Yemen, Iran, Bahrain, Libya and Algeria are trying to seize what may be a fleeting moment of freedom. But in some of those countries the chances of relatively bloodless revolutions are small, U.S. officials fear. That was evident Monday as groups clashed with security forces attempting to clamp down on protests in several Islamic cities.
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"Economic productivity begins and ends with the needs and purposes of the family household," Rep. Paul Ryan told the audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference. "Economic conservatism and social conservatism have the same moral root." Ryan's was a clear note of accord at a conference where discord was a major undercurrent: Some social conservative groups boycotted the conference because a gay Republican group had co-sponsored it.
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Top U.S. diplomatic and military officials are making initial moves they hope will allow them to encourage democracy in Egypt and the rest of the Middle East, reassure Israel and avoid aiding Islamic extremists by appearing to meddle in regional revolutions.
Admiral Michael Mullen, the top US military commander, left for Israel and Jordan Saturday in an effort to reaffirm U.S. support after the government of Hosni Mubarak collapsed in Egypt over the weekend.
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It looks like 2/11/11 will go down in history with 11/9/89, not 6/4/89. 6/4/89 is when the Chinese military obeyed orders to massacre protesters in Tienanmen Square; 11/9/89 is when East German leaders announced the opening of the Berlin Wall and declined to order border guards to shoot the Berliners who began dismantling the barrier that had stood for 28 years. On 2/11/11, last Friday, as the Egyptian military remained unwilling to fire on the crowds jamming Tahrir Square, Hosni Mubarak resigned after nearly 30 years as president.
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The Obama Administration's standing in the Middle East is largely dependent now on Egypt's success in transforming its toppled government into a secular democracy.
As throngs of Egyptians celebrated the resignation of embattled President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday, Western officials wondered whether the transfer of power would help -- or hurt -- the U.S.
"The hard part begins now," said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer and foreign policy expert at the Brookings Institution.
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President Obama hailed Egyptian protesters on Friday for successfully forcing Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak out of power, but forecast "difficult days ahead."
Mubarak stepped down from office on Friday, expediting a transfer of power to the military and abruptly bringing an end to 18 days of anti-government protests in Egypt.
"By stepping down, President Mubarak responded to the Egyptian people's hunger for change," Obama said from Grand Foyer of the White House on Friday. "But this is not the end of Egypt's transition.
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Afghan President Hamid Karzai's call to ban private security contractors and dismantle the NATO teams helping to rebuild the country is a high-stakes ploy that will make efforts to aid the Afghan people and contain the Taliban insurgency even more difficult, experts said.
Karzai made the announcement in Germany over the weekend, saying it was part of his plan to speed up the process of withdrawal by foreign countries in the coming year.
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SIMI VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
Nearly one-third of the U.S. population today was born after Ronald Reagan left the White House. They'll never have any personal memory of Reagan, and millions more remember him just as the old guy who was president when they were little. Whatever opinions they have of Reagan likely will be shaped by someone else -- teachers, historians, the media.
It's no wonder that a battle is under way for the 40th president's legacy.
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As makeup sessions go, President Obama's short stroll across Lafayette Square Monday to address the U.S. Chamber of Commerce left ample room for progress on both sides.
"I'm here in the interest of being more neighborly," Obama told the business lobby. "Maybe if we would have brought over a fruitcake when I first moved in, we would have gotten off to a better start."
Obama's visit with the chamber was the third stop in a tour of contrition that has brought him cheek-to-jowl with other, persistent former adversaries, including Sen.
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SIMI VALLEY, Calif. -- Former first lady Nancy Reagan made a rare public appearance to mark her late husband's 100th birthday on a spectacular Sunday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in the hills northwest of Los Angeles.
"It brings back so many memories to see all of your faces," Mrs. Reagan, 89, told a crowd that included Reagan veterans Edwin Meese, William Clark, James Baker, Richard Allen, George Schultz and others, as well as former Vice President Cheney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Texas Gov.
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