Russia keeps Belarus within the family. This is a country that continues to look to Moscow for guidance and remains under the shadow of Russian power.

The climate has dramatically improved, but below the surface the rift remains alive and well. The trend lines continue to be those of fragmentation and disillusion.

You'd be picking a … fight, though. Iran is a sophisticated country, with a very sophisticated leadership. It has a range of retaliatory options that are extremely unpleasant.

Berlusconi is in the midst of a massive effort to attract attention to his candidacy. He is on television every night and there is no better way to focus media attention on him than a visit to the United States.

Certainly there's a kind of contagion, but there's nothing predestined about it.

I find the tone somewhat more moderate and noted that there appears to be some talk of community-building, working with others, that wasn't there before. Its edges are somewhat rounded; it's not as strident. It bends over backward to stress America's need to work with others.