The international scene is buzzing this week. Leaders from around the world are meeting at the UN, a political assassination rocked Afghanistan and Congress continued to debate the federal budget, which will play a significant role in determining America's strength, both at home and abroad. Tonight, candidates for the presidency will have a chance to articulate a coherent view of America's role in the world at a debate in Orlando hosted by Fox News. Below are five questions - pulled from this week's headlines - that will gauge whether candidates agree with nonpartisan security experts about how America should lead in a rapidly changing world.

Five Questions for Florida

Iran. Earlier this week, outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen endorsed talking with Iran, saying, "We haven't had a connection with Iran since 1979. Even in the darkest days of our -- of the Cold War we had links to the Soviet Union. We are not talking to Iran so we don't understand each other. If something happens... it's virtually assured that we won't get it right, that there will be miscalculations which would be extremely dangerous in that part of the world." [Mike Mullen via AFP, 9/21/11]

Do you agree with Admiral Mullen that we need to keep talking with Iran?

Afghanistan. This week, the Afghan official in charge of peace talks with the Taliban was assassinated. Responding to the event, Ambassador James Dobbins, who served as the Bush administration's special envoy for Afghanistan, said it was "a validation of the course Karzai and the U.S. are on" with talks. [James Dobbins, 9/20/11. David Petraeus, 10/6/10]

Do you support talking with the Taliban to find a political solution for Afghanistan, as Amb. Dobbins, Gen. David Petraeus and others have said is necessary?

Libya. Yesterday, President Obama announced that the U.S. is reopening our embassy in Libya's capital, Tripoli, after the fall of the government of Muammar Qaddafi - a man Ronald Reagan called "the mad dog of the Middle East." [Washington Post, 9/20/11. Ronald Reagan via NPR, 3/4/11]

Given what you know now, do you support the president's decision to aid the Libyan people in winning their freedom?

Politicking with Foreign Leaders. This week, Rick Perry held an event with Israeli elected officials to criticize President Obama's stance on the Middle East - just before the president gave a speech rejecting the Palestinians' bid for statehood at the UN. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman endorsed the president's speech, saying he would sign on to with "both hands." [CNN, 9/19/11. Avigdor Lieberman via JTA, 9/22/11]

Is it appropriate for a legislator or candidate for national office to stand with a foreign leader to criticize a sitting president of any party? Do you agree with Foreign Minister Lieberman's support for the president's speech?

Defense Budget. General Colin Powell has said that the idea that military spending is "sacrosanct and it can't be touched" is wrong. Drawing on his deep experience in government, he said, "When the Cold War ended 20 years ago, when I was Chairman [of the Joint Chiefs] and Mr. [Richard] Cheney was Secretary of Defense, we cut the defense budget by 25 percent, and we reduced the force by 500,000 active duty soldiers." [Colin Powell via the Washington Post, 1/25/11]

Do you agree with General Powell that defense cuts should be part any deficit reduction plan?

What We're Reading

The Palestinian Authority will push ahead with its bid to get United Nations statehood recognition, though it won't press for an immediate vote.

Pessimism fills Kabul during mourning for slain peace council chief Burhanuddin Rabbani.

NATO will extend its security mission in Libya to protect civilians there against continued threats, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced.

A gang known to be aligned with Mexico's most-wanted drug lord appears to be making a violent challenge to the dominant Zetas Cartel after it dumped 35 bodies on a busy avenue in Veracruz.

North Korean foreign ministry officials publicly expressed their desire to renew the six-party nuclear talks at a high-level meeting in Beijing between officials from the two Koreas.

Independent book publisher Canongate will publish an unauthorized version of Julian Assange's autobiography, despite efforts by the Wikileaks founder to cancel the book deal.

Worldwide, an increasing number of land deals are displacing farmers and leaving poor communities homeless, Oxfam has warned.

Sudanese forces have yet to withdraw from the disputed Abyei border region between Sudan and South Sudan, in defiance of an agreement signed by both sides two weeks ago.

The surprise defeat in the House of a special funding measure to keep the federal government functioning past Sept. 30 was a sharp rebuke of leadership.

Commentary of the Day

Tim Arango examines the influence of the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al Sadr and how he will shape the future of Iraq. 

Jina Moore asks, is Ivory Coast really a great model for international intervention?

Mohamed A. El-Erian warns that the eurozone's banking crisis is on the verge of becoming a global economic catastrophe and asks whether the economic heavyweights meeting in Washington this week know what to do about it.