Must Reads!!

• US and Israel are split on speed of Iranian nuclear threat
• State official says Egypt’s SCAF may not be behind NGO raids
• State Dept asks Iraq embassy to assess impact of a 25% cut
• Wings Over Iraq: Daily World Updates and Defense Brief
• General: Afghan security forces will be “good enough” in 2014
• Gen. Keane: Use drones to target Taliban leaders in Pakistan
• US seeks greater access to Philippine ports, airfields
• GsGf: It's the Pre American Age
• AFRICOM may lose Special Forces due to Defense budget cuts
• Schake: So much for leading through civilian power
• Interview: USUN Amb. Rice weighs-in on Russian relations

Plus:

Growing instability from Syria to Egypt highlights the Obama administration’s failure to develop a consistent strategy for promoting democracy in the wake of popular uprisings in the region, analysts say. – Washington Times

Ayaan Hirsi Ali writes: The transition from closed to open societies will be slow and painful for the Arab-Muslim world. Given that, it would be better for the west to invest in the future by offering more support to the secular groups that brought about this revolution. Cairo is not Ankara post-Ataturk, much less Bonn post-Adenauer. It is time to abandon the overconfident assumption that there is a moderate mainstream in the Arab world. – Financial Times