A plan hatched two years ago by a minor undersecretary in the Treasury Department may have a big impact on U.S. foreign policy in Iran.

U.S. officials are only speaking anonymously about why American military planes bombed the border of Syria on Sunday. Joshua Landis of the Center for Middle East Studies explains how the attack may affect U.S.-Syrian relations.

Four years ago, Osama bin Laden released an election-themed videotape referencing presidential candidates George Bush and John Kerry and "the best way to avoid another catastrophe." Kerry blamed the tape for his loss in the 2004 election. Now al-Qaida is endorsing the Republican candidate John McCain. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof asked his readers, "Is John McCain Osama’s nightmare or cherished dream?"

Syrian officials are protesting an American helicopter raid inside the Syrian border that they say killed at least eight civilians.

By this week, the U.S. military in Iraq should have largely transferred responsibility for paying members of "the Sons of Iraq," Sunni Arab groups fighting al-Qaida to the Iraqi government. And, senior Iraqi politicians are warning that, after eight months of talks, a major deal between Baghdad and Washington that directs the presence of American troops in Iraq is doomed.