As European leaders gather for yet another summit they face questions about the survival of the Euro and, by extension, the European Project itself. While the bond markets have stabilized for the moment, political unrest continues as Italy sees riots in Rome, while protests continue to erupt in Greece over their austerity policies. It seems to me that there are a couple of possible flash points down the road. The most immediate is whether or not Germany will agree to some form of permanent bailout mechanism. The more long-term problem is the eventual political reaction to austerity. Will governments in places like Greece and Ireland fall? Will extremists come to the fore? The longer this Great Recession lasts (and its effects will continue to be felt even if, technically speaking, we are not in negative growth, but continue with very sluggish growth), the greater the chances for political and social upheaval.

Nicholas Kristof has this story about a heroic Muslim woman in Somalia who forced a local Islamist militia to back down. In the end the struggle with Islamists will be won or lost by Muslims.

George Will wonders if we will see a replay of the Tet Offensive in Afghanistan. If you don't understand the analogy, just remember that the Tet Offensive in Vietnam at the beginning of 1968 turned public opinion here in American against the war (despite the fact that it was a tactical defeat for the Communists which resulted in the near destruction of the Viet Cong as a fighting force in South Vietnam). Tet confirmed for the American people that there could be no traditional victory in Vietnam. I think that more Americans every day are concluding that we can never win in Afghanistan. The only reason there is not an enormous groundswell of opposition to the war is because it is being fought by such a small segment of our population, all of whom voluntarily signed up to put on a uniform.