WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- The debate over what to do next in Afghanistan has been politically polarized between those who attack the Obama administration for "dithering" and supporters who believe the president needs ample time to be a "decider." Unfortunately, this is a wrong and false debate.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- For some armchair strategists, President Obama's decision to scrap the Bush 43 plan to deploy ballistic missile defense hardware in Poland and the Czech Republic was rank appeasement that would merely sharpen the Russian bear's appetite for more unilateral concessions that could only weaken America's defense posture. That was sound Cold War thinking. And for some, the Cold War's villains continue in sheep's clothing. Moscow still craves recognition as the dominant power in the former Soviet Union.

UPI Almanac for Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009.

UPI Almanac for Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge backed off comments that he was pressured to raise the terror level before the 2004 presidential elections.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge said he squashed a plan to raise the terror alert level just before the 2004 general election.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney has revealed openly disappointment with former President George Bush who he felt had "gone soft" on him, observers say.

UPI Almanac for Tuesday, June 23, 2009.

WASHINGTON, June 12 (UPI) -- Sometimes wars go exactly the way the governments or political movements that launch them expect. But more often than not, they don't. The secret to success in launching a war is to be able to wrap it up fast and to know when to stop. Those were techniques that the United States was not able to apply in either Afghanistan or Iraq.