The color-coded alerts are gone, but terror plot warnings are now seen as an inevitable part of the holiday season. With al Qaeda on its heels, the U.S. faces a real but weakened threat, experts say. Counterterrorism and law enforcement officials work tirelessly and have scored important successes over the last year. Since the very purpose of terrorism is to instill fear and provoke overreaction among the public, an America that refuses to overreact, rush to judgment or give in to fear is an America that defeats terrorism - at the holidays and throughout the year.

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Political attitudes are beginning to catch up to a quiet sea change in American foreign policy: progressive policy success is earning public trust, while conservative overreach is facing a backlash from voters and our military leadership. As The Washington Post's David Ignatius notes, among other things, alliances are stronger, Iran is weaker and al Qaeda is on the run. Lacking a substantive counterattack, conservatives have resorted to undermining the ideal of civilian leadership enshrined in our Constitution -- attacks that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey calls "offensive." Former White House counterterrorism adviser Richard Clarke commented that conservative candidates' attacks "are telling voters in advance that there is an important part of the president's job that they are unwilling to perform."

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Yesterday, North Korea's official state news agency reported the death of the country's leader, Kim Jong-il. He apparently died of heart failure, leaving behind his twenty-something son, Kim Jong-un, as his chosen successor. While experts expect some turbulence as Kim Jong-un takes power, they also note that the transition to the younger Kim has been underway for nearly three years. The leadership change carries the possibility of destabilization but also the possibility for a renewed diplomatic engagement as North Korea's leadership looks for ways to reinvigorate the country's failing economy. Veterans of both Republican and Democratic administrations are speaking out today to insist that negotiating with North Korea may be unpleasant, but it is also essential. The U.S. response demands a steady hand, calm instead of hyperbole and close coordination with regional partners - most importantly China and ally South Korea.

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As Iraq and the United States mark the departure of American forces, this weekend marks one year since Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor, set himself on fire, launching protests that took down dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and ignited the region-wide political movement known as the Arab Spring. After a year of tragedy, triumph, peaceful change and bloodshed, it seems the region's biggest changes may yet be to come. Egypt has begun its first post-Mubarak election and faces challenges in civil-military and sectarian relations and economic and political reform - even as Israel returned its ambassador, marking an improvement in relations.  Conflict in Syria, which has already claimed 5,000 civilian lives, continues. President Saleh is stepping down in Yemen, yet the situation on the ground remains tense.  Libya's new government is bringing oil production back online while dealing with the difficulty of transitioning and dismantling militias. One year later, the Middle East's transition is, perhaps, at the end of the beginning.

As Iraq and the United States mark the departure of American forces, this weekend marks one year since Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor, set himself on fire, launching protests that took down dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and ignited the region-wide political movement known as the Arab Spring. After a year of tragedy, triumph, peaceful change and bloodshed, it seems the region's biggest changes may yet be to come. Egypt has begun its first post-Mubarak election and faces challenges in civil-military and sectarian relations and economic and political reform - even as Israel returned its ambassador, marking an improvement in relations.  Conflict in Syria, which has already claimed 5,000 civilian lives, continues. President Saleh is stepping down in Yemen, yet the situation on the ground remains tense.  Libya's new government is bringing oil production back online while dealing with the difficulty of transitioning and dismantling militias. One year later, the Middle East's transition is, perhaps, at the end of the beginning.

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Today President Obama spoke at Fort Bragg in North Carolina on the end of the Iraq war. He focused on the sacrifices made, and courage shown, by American troops in the war and noted that they leave Iraq with "heads held high." As the last U.S. troops leave Iraq this month - a move that commands significant expert, popular and international support - proponents of continuing the war have resorted to faulty and highly political responses. Below are several myths about the end of the Iraq war, followed by facts that dispel those myths. Taken together, they underscore a central point: Ending the war will make America safer and is the best way to honor the sacrifices of those who have served.

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Late yesterday, the Senate and House of Representatives completed their conference on the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), leaving fundamentally unchanged provisions that mandate military detention of terrorism suspects, authorize indefinite military detention and harden restrictions on transfers of terror suspects.  In the words of Major General Paul Eaton (ret), military and national security leaders "reject the militarization of the American judicial system," and this has led to unprecedented and widespread opposition from former military leaders, civil libertarians, former intelligence officials, current national security leadership, former Bush administration officials and editorial boards across the country. The growing chorus includes, today, two retired four-star generals using the pages of the New York Times to indicate that they would support a White House veto of the bill.

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Today, President Obama meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki at the White House. The two leaders will discuss the next phase of U.S.-Iraqi relations following the full withdrawal of American troops by the end of the year. That meeting, part of a series of events this week, underscores a larger milestone: After more than eight years, the Iraq war is over. Credit for this success belongs to U.S. troops and civilians who served there, as well as the Iraqi people. Their dedication and sacrifice leaves Iraq fully sovereign, a democracy and a U.S. partner. This is a promise kept for President Obama, who has been at the forefront of the movement to end the war since he was an Illinois state senator. Ending the war will make America safer by allowing us to shift resources and attention towards a broader set of priorities -- specifically Asia, fighting terror and rebuilding the U.S. economy.

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Bipartisan opposition continues to mount to provisions in the defense authorization bill passed by the House and Senate and currently heading to conference. The provisions would mandate military detention and permit indefinite detention of terrorism suspects including American citizens taken in the U.S. and harden restrictions on the transfer of terror suspects. Recent weeks have seen an outpouring of support from conservatives and progressives, lawyers and security professionals, editorial boards and government officials. Adam Serwer writes, "It's official: Just about the only people who think the mandatory military detention provisions in the defense spending bill are a good idea are the congressional legislators trying to show everyone how tough on terror they are." [Mother Jones, 12/6/11]

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U.S.-Russia relations have reached a tight spot on several central issues: discord over plans for European missile defense, disappointment with Russia's flawed elections, disagreement on how to end the regime crackdown in Syria and pressure Iran on its nuclear program. Led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the administration has taken strong stances on the elections and missile defense, while continuing partnership in other vital areas, including U.S. overflight rights to Afghanistan and New START treaty implementation. The ability to "walk and chew gum at the same time" - to stand strong on issues of principle, maintain communication and make pragmatic progress elsewhere - shows the success of the "reset" policy. In fact, the reset's critics are now getting what they said they wanted on missile defense and human rights - while in Afghanistan our military gets what it needs.

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Bipartisan opposition continues to mount to provisions in the defense authorization bill passed by the House and Senate and currently heading to conference. The provisions would mandate military detention and permit indefinite detention of terrorism suspects including American citizens taken in the U.S. and harden restrictions on the transfer of terror suspects. Recent weeks have seen an outpouring of support from conservatives and progressives, lawyers and security professionals, editorial boards and government officials. Adam Serwer writes, "It's official: Just about the only people who think the mandatory military detention provisions in the defense spending bill are a good idea are the congressional legislators trying to show everyone how tough on terror they are."

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