Reactions to the election of a new U.S. president are fusing from across the Arab and Muslim world. Reflecting the fundamental interests of the various regimes and movements, the most radical groups - including al-Qaida - have been sending messages in different directions.

MOSCOW -- Russia is unlikely to get what it wants from Libya. Before Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi came to Moscow, analysts thought he would sign military contracts worth between $2 billion and $4.5 billion with Russia. However, while the Kremlin staff was busy searching for a place to build a Bedouin tent for Gadhafi, the "son of the desert" was thinking about his bargaining tactic in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

Should Israels charismatic Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni manage to surmount the odds and succeed within the next 40 days to form a government she will become the next prime minister of the state of Israel.

The pressures for both the U.S. and Israel to attack Irans nuclear facilities have received an additional impetus from two recent House and Senate resolutions. According to William O. Beeman, professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Minnesota, there is tremendous danger in two almost identical resolutions in the House and Senate calling upon U.S. President George W. Bush to "immediately and dramatically increase the economic, political and diplomatic pressure on Iran to verifiably suspend its nuclear enrichment activities."

GENEVA -- When is a cold war a cold war? Tensions between the United States and Russia find themselves at an all-time high since the end of the Cold War with U.S. and Russian fleets chasing each other around the Black Sea in maneuvers reminiscent of the coldest days of the Cold War.

Last months five-day war in Georgia, a tiny neighbor of Russia and Turkey, rekindled memories of the beautiful American ballad, "Georgia on My Mind," which was written in 1930 and became a famous hit only in 1960 when the popular blind American singer, Ray Charles, introduced it nationwide.

There are two critical lessons to be learned from the recent Russian-Georgian war. First, Western security commitments should not to be made unless they can be enforced; and second, autonomous ethnic regions within tiny nations that border powerful states carry the potential for future conflicts.

MOSCOW -- Three events came together independently to produce an intrigue that is hooking politicians and media in the Middle East. This is what happened.

BRICK, N.J., USA -- "I was able to get a sense of his soul, a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country," U.S. President George W. Bush remarked of his meeting with Russias then president, Vladimir Putin on June 16, 2001. Bush said he had looked deep into Putins eyes, deep enough presumably so as to glimpse his soul and decide, as he said, that he was a trustworthy partner. A partnership requires mutual trust however, and Putin believes Bush has deceived him, and he is right.

This latest crisis with the Republic of Georgia is the best thing that could have happened for Moscow since the break-up of the former Soviet Union. Flexing its muscles in the Caucasus has allowed Russia to send a number of messages to the world.