Editor's Note: Dr. James M. Lindsay is a Senior Vice President at the Council on Foreign Relations and co-author of America Unbound: The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy. Visit his blog here and follow him on Twitter.

By James M. Lindsay, CFR.org

The rhetoric on Iran certainly heated up this week. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta noted ominously on Sunday “if we have to do it, we will do it” when asked what the United States would do if the Iranians crossed America’s red line with their nuclear program.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that Iranian leaders  “have changed their calulus and are now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States in response to real or perceived U.S. actions that threaten the regime.”

And Israeli Defense Minister told participants in the annual Herzliya Conference yesterday that the time for stopping Iran’s nuclear program was fast running out, adding “whoever says ‘later’ may found that later is too late.”

So is the clock about to run out on sanctions?  Probably not.

FULL POST

Editor's Note: Dr. James M. Lindsay is a Senior Vice President at the Council on Foreign Relations and co-author of America Unbound: The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy. Visit his blog here and follow him on Twitter.

By James M. Lindsay, CFR.org

The United States is now moving into the time of year when colleges begin sending out their admissions offers. So what subject should you major in?

(Or in the case of most people reading this post, what should you have majored in?)

No great surprises here. Engineering majors get paid the best coming out of college, and they can expect to earn the highest median mid-career salaries. (Of course, being an engineer requires taking engineering courses. Three cheers for differential equations, anyone?)

Conversely, elementary school teachers can expect to be at the bottom of the salary list in both the near term and the long term.

Editor's Note: Every week, the Global Public Square brings you some must-read editorials from around the world addressed to America and Americans. The series is called Listen up, America!

U.S. troops are out of Iraq, and U.S.-led combat operations in Afghanistan could wind down by the end of next year. At the same time, the U.S. has pivoted its attention to the Pacific and to an ascendant China. This has not gone unnoticed by the nations in the region.

China – “It is natural to see the US, which is used to being No.1 in the world, feel uncomfortable and even uneasy about China's rise,” says an editorial in the Global Times, a newspaper owned by the country's communist party.

“But they should first realize that the rise of China is inevitable as long as China can maintain a peaceful development environment. In this sense, the most effective way for the US to contain its development is to damage the peaceful environment in China and bring it into chaos.”

China – "The Philippines has signaled during a recent bilateral defense dialogue that it would expand the US military presence on its soil," says another editorial in the Global Times, adding, "China must respond to this move."

"The Philippines is a suitable target to impose such a punishment. A reasonable yet powerful enough sanction can be considered. It should show China's neighboring area that balancing China by siding with the US is not a good choice."

FULL POST

How much do you know about the world? Test yourself. For more quizzes, click here.

By John Cookson, CNN

The headline numbers in the January jobs report look positive: Employment rose by 243,000 jobs and the unemployment rate edged down to 8.3%. Here are details that did not make the headlines:

The education advantage. A college degree means an unemployment rate at half the national average. Not having a high school diploma means an unemployment rate at three times the rate of those who finished college.

Government cuts. While overall payrolls are up by more than 1.9 million jobs since January 2011, government has shed 276,000 jobs over the same period. Of these lost public sector jobs, 84 percent are at the state and local level.

A “healthy” economy. Employment in health care has increased by 312,500 jobs since January 2011, including 30,900 jobs since December 2011 alone. Health and personal care stores have added another 14,500 jobs over the last year.

Stop pirating movies and music. The motion picture and sound recording industries shed 7,900 jobs between December 2011 and January 2012.

On Fareed Zakaria GPS this week on Sunday at 10a.m. and 1p.m. EST, Fareed has a special message for Mitt Romney: The world had changed. It is now a post-American world and “chest-thumping triumphalism won’t secure America’s interests or ideals in a world populated by powerful new players.”

We have a lively panel on the GOP, religion, and Russia: the New York Times' David Brooks, David Remnick from The New Yorker, Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal, and Chrystia Freeland of Reuters.

Later, 1-on-1 with the world’s highest-paid politician: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore.

And, What in the World: Why you shouldn’t worry about democracy succeeding in the Arab world. FULL POST

Editor's Note: John L. Esposito is University Professor as well as Professor of Religion and International Affairs and of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. He recently spent time interviewing people in Tunisia and Egypt. 

By John L. Esposito - Special to CNN

After meeting with Egyptians from across the political spectrum and after reviewing poll results, I noticed one common belief a year after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak: The revolution is just beginning.

Egyptians are disillusioned by the slow pace of change.  But they also feel empowered. This sense was reinforced by free and fair parliamentary elections and wider freedom in the media, across civil society and on the street. Despite the obstacles and concerns about the military, people across the political spectrum say when things go wrong, the people’s voice will be heard in a return to Tahrir Square.

A recent Gallup poll reflected this sense of empowerment and responsibility:  “Today 90 percent say that if there is a problem in their community, it is up to them to fix it. And after an election seen as fair by most, the percentage of Egyptians that think they have not only the responsibility but also the power to make change surged from 55 percent in September to 74 percent in December 2011.” FULL POST

American employers substantially stepped up their hiring in January, bringing the unemployment rate down for the fifth month in a row.

Employers added 243,000 jobs in January, the Labor Department reported Friday, marking a pick-up in hiring from December, when the economy added 203,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 8.3%. That is the lowest since February 2009. FULL POST

Editor's Note: Michael O’Hanlon was in Afghanistan earlier this month and is the author of the new ebook, The Wounded Giant: America’s Armed Forces in an Age of Austerity. You can read more from him on the Global Public Square.

By Michael O'Hanlon – Special to CNN

This week, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta made big news by telling reporters that the United States would seek to end its combat role in Afghanistan sometime in 2013.

2014 had been the previous target date for such a change. The Obama administration later clarified (and caveated) this statement so it sounded like less of a big deal.  But the statement was not actually withdrawn and it does represent something of a change.

I have my concerns about the latest Panetta statement because I think the administration continues to be inadequately careful in some of its messaging about Afghanistan. Not only American voters, but key Afghan and Pakistani partners hear such language and sense an administration no longer fully committed to the mission - one rushing for the exits, especially as election day in the United States looms. FULL POST

Editor’s Note: The following piece, exclusive to GPS, comes from Wikistrat, the world's first massively multiplayer online consultancy.  It leverages a global network of subject-matter experts via a crowd-sourcing methodology to provide unique insights.

It’s hard to gauge just how strong the Free Syrian Army really is.  It’s clearly growing in size and in its ability to control ever-widening swaths of territory.  But at the same time, Russian and Iranian guns pour into Bashar al-Assad’s government.  And Bashar al-Assad has a steely will to power.

Given the mounting tension, it’s worth thinking through exactly how regime change may unfold and what it’s consequences would mean for the region.

Wikistrat, the world’s first massively multiplayer online consultancy ran an online simulation on what could go down in Syria. Here are the results:

1) A military coup ousts al-Assad but retains control

The military regime could hold on to power while dumping al-Assad. Iran would like this scenario. A militarized dictatorship in Syria would keep its supply lines open to Hezbollah and Hamas.

The renewed regime would have to enter into some pro forma negotiations with the Free Syrian Army and two competing opposition groups (the Syrian National Council and National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change).

The West would hope for a not-too-bloody handover to civilian rule, mimicking Egypt post-Mubarak. As for al-Assad, he’d probably take a bullet to the brain on this one. FULL POST