The Way the World Looks

Here is my Creators Syndicate column for this week, looking at progress in Iraq, the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran, and the defeat of Hugo Chávez's referendum in Venezuela. For more on Venezuela, check out this interesting column by former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda. He reports that Chávez attempted to steal the election but was prevented by the military. This strikes me as very plausible, given the doubts about the integrity of Chávez's electoral process I've expressed in the past.