2010 Was Bad for Obama. Could 2011 Be Worse?

Nile Gardiner, TelegraphIgnore the revisionist hype in sections of the liberal media about President Obama staging a (mythical) political comeback - this is a presidency with an approval rating of 45 percent (according to the RealClear Politics poll of polls), that presides over a nation where just 27 percent of voters think the country is moving in the right direction, and which just 29 percent of Americans think will be returned to power in 2012. The White House may be claiming a couple of political wins in the dying embers of the lame duck Congress after expending a great deal of political capital in the...

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Obama Appoints Four New Ambassadors

Using his power to make appointments when the Senate is in recess, President Obama has appointed four new ambassadors — to Syria, Turkey, Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic. The four nominees have been waiting an average of five months for Senate confirmation; Robert Stephen Ford, named ambassador to Syria, had been waiting since February. His nomination was blocked by Republicans who didn't want to "reward" Syria as it provides support to Hezbollah and Hamas.

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Kidnappings Highlight Al-Qaida's Rise In The Sahara

Recent U.S. cables leaked by the WikiLeaks website show al-Qaida gaining a foothold in the Sahel, a lawless region in the Sahara desert, straddling the African nations of Niger, Mali, Mauritania and Algeria. How to counter and curb growing Islamist militancy and banditry in this vast, poorly policed zone is a priority for governments in West Africa, Washington and beyond.

Motorbikes buzz up and down the streets of the ancient, sandy town of Agadez, the regional capital of northern Niger and the gateway to the desert. The town is largely empty of tourists who used to flock in their thousands to the historic town, en route to and from the desert.

Mayor Yahaya Namassa Kane partly blames a three-year Tuareg rebellion for their absence. But he's also irked by Western travel advisories issued after seven foreigners were abducted in mid-September in northern Niger.

"Those who kidnapped these people do not come from this region," he said. "They came from neighboring countries and took their hostages across the border.

"But I think branding our region, Agadez and northern Niger, as insecure — a red-alert zone — is a bit much. That's not the case at all."

The militant group al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb claims it snatched the five nationals from France, the former colonial power in Niger, as well as one from Togo and another from Madagascar. They were all working at the French Areva uranium mine in Arlit, north of Agadez. The captives are believed to be held in neighboring Mali.

Ambassador Daniel Benjamin, the coordinator for counterterrorism at the U.S. State Department, says the U.S. is concerned by the activity.

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Richardson to decide on Billy the Kid pardon

The governor of New Mexico has until Friday to decide whether to pardon one of the West's most infamous outlaws in the killing of a law enforcement officer.

Gov. Bill Richardson received 809 responses on a special website dedicated to answering a generations-old question: Should Billy the Kid get a pardon in the killing of a sheriff?

Richardson, a Billy the Kid buff, is looking at an old promise by another governor, and not the Kid's cold-blooded reputation, in deciding whether to issue a posthumous pardon, officials said.

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