Opinion - The Christian Science Monitor

Camo means honorThe opinion piece "Dressed to kill: Why clothe kids in camouflage?" left me feeling riled up and misunderstood. While camo represents aggression and violence to the writer, for my family it symbolizes honor, service, humility, and sacrifice.

London - In the run-up to talks with Iran last month, many in Europe and the United States asked whether Iran would, or even could, come clean on its nuclear activities.

Drum roll, please. After much fanfare, the European Union has its first permanent president and its first foreign policy chief – and few people have ever heard of them.

Beijing - China's role in the international policy debate has been rising in tandem with its growing economy. As a key member of the G-20, China is helping to elaborate the global policy priorities for the future and devise solutions to global problems.

Berkeley, Calif. - President Obama says he wants to "rebalance" the economic relationship between China and the US as part of his plan to restart the American jobs machine.

Mexico City - Few issues have caused as much of a stir this year as the question of whether illegal immigrants will be included in the Democratic healthcare bill.

One possible motive for President Obama's long delay in announcing a new US strategy in Afghanistan may be this: He first wants to see tangible steps against corruption by President Hamid Karzai.

New York - If you've been spending time in proximity to teenage girls this week, there's a strong chance you've heard about "New Moon" and Edward Cullen. Edward is the undead hero of the bestselling young adult fantasy/romance "Twilight" series."

Irvine, Calif. - Has America's Federal Reserve become the single greatest obstacle to global economic recovery? Central bankers around the world are increasingly asking this question as the American greenback continues its Fed-inspired decline and damages the export-driven growth of countries from Latin America and Asia to Europe.

Israel's announcement this week that it's moving forward with plans to build 900 new homes in an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem – which Palestinians consider their capital – has sparked deserved outrage from just about everyone with an interest in Middle East peace.

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - The seemingly perpetual Middle East "peace process" is now at a moment of truth. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said so himself at a press conference on Nov. 4.

Washington - Asian diplomats often say that just showing up is a large part of successful diplomacy.

Creating jobs for Americans is President Obama's top priority. Yet he left China on Tuesday with little to show in further opening the world's fastest-growing economy to greater imports of US goods and services.

Washington - As a candidate, Barack Obama said he would "insist that China stop manipulating its currency because it's not fair to American manufacturers." As president, Mr. Obama could have fulfilled that campaign pledge well before his visit to China this week.

Atlanta - When Sarah Palin's book "Going Rogue" hits stores today, it will increase the tension between elitism and populism that's marked American conservatism from the beginning.

Once the media hoopla over Sarah Palin's book and her "Oprah" interview fades away, what will be left of this "rogue" on a roll?

Quantico, Va. - As President Obama decides on a strategy option for Afghanistan, he's said to be mulling over four options, with a province-by-province analysis of local Afghan leaders at his disposal.

Berkeley, Calif. - This fall's trio of outbursts (from Rep. Joe Wilson, singer Kanye West, and tennis star Serena Williams) brought the topic of civility front and center.

America's long campaign to defeat Al Qaeda took a largely untested turn on Friday with a decision by US Attorney General Eric Holder to put the key 9/11 suspects on trial in a civilian court – just blocks from where the World Trade Center once stood.

Washington - If Gen. Stanley McChrystal prevails in persuading President Obama to insert more US troops in Afghanistan, do Americans understand the difficulty of the task they'd face?

Provo, Utah - When Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Indonesia earlier this year, she said: "If you want to know whether Islam, democracy, modernity, and women's rights can coexist, go to Indonesia."

The Fort Hood massacre has opened a nationwide debate over the motives of the shooting suspect, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. Was he traumatized by tales of wounded soldiers? Was he a Muslim fanatic? Or was he simply a disgruntled employee who went "postal"?

Orhan Pamuk, the Turkish novelist, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2006. He spoke with Global Viewpoint editor Nathan Gardels last week in Los Angeles.

As a child in an Indonesian school, Barack Obama spent more time in Asia than most Americans. This week he returns for his first official visit as US president.

St. Louis - Of the 1,990 pages in the healthcare reform bill passed by Congress Saturday night, page 206 is especially touted – and little understood.

Singapore - For many, the fall of the Berlin Wall marked the so-called "end of history" and the final victory of the West.

New York - Paper and ink are disappearing, while new electronic reading platforms and devices proliferate. Debate over how we will read in the future rages on, with publications everywhere casting about for new ways to sell a very old product: the written word. But so far we've failed to address a fundamental glitch in our transition away from paper.

This Veterans Day, hundreds of thousands of vets are taking advantage of the most generous GI Bill since World War II. Congress got it right in 2008 when it increased tuition funding for returning service men and women. With the aid kicking in this fall, the Veterans Administration as well as colleges and universities must also do right by student vets.