While congressional action lags, a series of year-end fiscal measures could derail the U.S. recovery. This Backgrounder examines the potential global impact.

American diplomacy has changed dramatically in the past few decades, and has taken on a more conflict-prone direction, according to this New York Times piece.

With the fiscal cliff looming and our current fiscal trajectory unsustainable, "We should let the Bush high-end tax cuts expire, with an achievable, progressive reduction in tax expenditures. And we should have spending cuts, including entitlement reforms, equally matched by revenue increases," says Robert E. Rubin.

Max Boot says David Petraeus's intellectualism was crucial to the U.S. military. Now the nation loses his skills.

Blake Clayton says what's really behind New York's epic gasoline lines in the wake of Hurricane Sandy is the problem of getting gas and power to gas stations, with panic buying making things all the worse.

Blake Clayton argues that cyber attacks on oil and gas operations are the new face of energy insecurity, with vast potential for crippling effects on global energy prices and nations far beyond the Middle East.

President Obama gave these remarks regarding the fiscal cliff on November 9, 2012.

House Speaker John Boehner gave these remarks regarding the fiscal cliff on November 9, 2012.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released this report, "Economic Effects of Policies Contributing to Fiscal Tightening in 2013", on November 8, 2012.

In the aftermath of the 2012 U.S. elections, Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei comments on and compares the political systems in the U.S. and China.

"Principled compromise, prioritizing China, compassion, democracy-support, addressing detainee and drone policy as blemishes on our brand, and re-balancing soft and hard power tools ought to be touchstones of a post-2012 GOP foreign policy," says Mark P. Lagon.