In the New York Times this morning two stories I thought were quite fascinating;

Internal bickering among the Saudi rulers over what to do about Iraq. Increasingly, some inside Saudi Arabia are looking at Iran as a greater threat than Israel.

Intrigue follows death of the leader of Turkmenistan. It seems President Nyazov, a holdover from when Turkmenistan was a Soviet Republic, had created a cult of personality. Among other things, it seems he believed he would live forever, as he never made any plans for a succession. Like all tyrants, death found him anyway.

Masha Lipman, writing in the Washington Post, has more on the situation in Turkmenistan.

An amusing column from Charles Krauthammer, also in the Post, that might explain why Americans are disliked around the world.

An interesting theory from Dick Morris and Eileen McCann about the Obama effect in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008.