The latest news on National Security, Climate Change, NYC Bomb Plot, Black Mayor in Philadelphia MS, Homeless Children, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Burma, and Select Op-eds.

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Quote of the day. "We uphold our most cherished values not only because doing so is right, but because it strengthens our country and it keeps us safe. Time and again, our values have been our best national security asset -- in war and peace; in times of ease and in eras of upheaval." President Barack Obama, in his Thursday speech on national security. (New York Times)

National security. Obama and Cheney Deliver Dueling Speeches on National Security "President Obama and former vice president Richard B. Cheney yesterday gave the country the national security debate it never had during last year's campaign, with the two outlining starkly divergent views of American power and the presidency in the fight against terrorism." In separate speeches, Obama and Cheney spar over war on terrorism "President Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney dueled today over the way America should detain and interrogate suspected terrorists, with Obama renewing his vow to close the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Cheney forcefully denying that the Bush administration used torture to extract information." Obama Faces Pitfalls With 'Surgical' Tack on Detainees "He must convince the country that it is in safe hands despite warnings to the contrary from the right, and at the same time persuade the skeptical left that it is enough to amend his predecessor's approach rather than abandon it." 'Clash of the Titans' pits Obama against Cheney on Guantánamo closure "Barack Obama collided with former vice-president Dick Cheney today as the president vowed to push ahead with his plans to close the Guantánamo detention centre in the face of opposition from both left and right." Cheney's speech ignored some inconvenient truths "Former Vice President Dick Cheney's defense Thursday of the Bush administration's policies for interrogating suspected terrorists contained omissions, exaggerations and misstatements."

Climate change. Panel OKs cap-and-trade proposal "President Obama's plan to arrest U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions took a historic step Thursday as the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a plan to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions and establish a marketplace that would allow companies to buy and sell the right to pollute." Climate Bill Clears Hurdle, but Others Remain "The House Energy and Commerce Committee, splitting largely along party lines, approved on Thursday the most ambitious energy and global warming legislation ever debated in Congress." Democrats may make trouble for climate bill "Waxman won a long-sought legislative victory Thursday night with committee approval of his sweeping climate-change bill. But the nimble chairman still has to get over some rocky terrain before the bill - or one like it - ever becomes law."

NYC bomb plot. Bomb plot defendants 'eager to bring death to Jews' "Four men arrested after planting what they thought were explosives near two New York City synagogues were disappointed that the World Trade Center wasn't still around to attack, a federal prosecutor said today as the men appeared in court for the first time." In Bronx Bomb Case, Steps and Missteps, on Tape "Remarkably, vast passages of the conspiracy the federal authorities described - the talk of killing Jews, the testing of the men's would-be weaponry - played out on a veritable soundstage of hidden cameras and secret microphones, and involved material provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

Black mayor in Philadelphia, Miss. First Black Mayor in City Known for Klan Killings "The city of Philadelphia, Miss., where members of the Ku Klux Klan killed three civil rights workers in 1964 in one of the era's most infamous acts, on Tuesday elected its first black mayor."

Homeless children. School caters to homeless children "Justin Bisher, 11, attends one of the few schools in the country dedicated to homeless children, and that's where he met Lazarus the cat. 'If we're feeling sad at school, Lazarus hops up on our desks and cuddles with us,' says Justin, one of an estimated 1.5 million homeless children in the U.S., according to the National Center on Family Homelessness."

Iran. Iranian president calls 'disgraceful' predecessor's decision to suspend nuclear program "Iran's hard-line president criticized as 'disgraceful' a 2003 deal his predecessor reached with Europe to freeze the country's nuclear program, saying his own decision to stand up to the West restored Iran's dignity." Mullen: Iran with nukes 'calamitous' "Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen said Thursday that the consequences of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon would be 'calamitous' and that major powers must join hands and act to prevent it."

Pakistan. Pakistan army 'surrounds key city' "The Pakistani military claims to have surrounded Mingora, the Swat valley's main city, seeking to wrest the area from Taliban fighters." Pakistani army fails to rescue civilian allies in Swat "Short of food and desperate for the military to support them, some 200,000 people remain trapped in northern Swat as the Pakistani army battles to wrest the area farther south back from Taliban extremists." U.N. in aid plea for Pakistan 'suffering' "The U.N. has appealed for a total of $543m in humanitarian aid to help more than 1.6 million people displaced by fighting in north-west Pakistan."

Afghanistan. U.S. surge in Afghanistan 'could push Taliban into Pakistan' "Admiral Mike Mullen told the U.S. Senate's foreign relations committee: 'We can't deny that our success may only push them [the Taliban] deeper into Pakistan.'" Public money 'wasted' on Afghanistan schemes "Millions of pounds in taxpayers' money have been wasted on failed reconstruction projects in Afghanistan, according to an internal assessment by the Department for International Development."

Sri Lanka. As Sri Lanka Savors Victory, Challenges of Reconciliation and Resettlement Loom "Despite the elation, however, the human cost of their accomplishment is also becoming clear: Power has been consolidated around a ruling family, a humanitarian crisis looms, and civil rights and media freedoms have been rolled back."

Burma. Burma Restricts Observers at Suu Kyi Trial; U.N. Chief Seeks Meeting With Junta "Burma's military government again barred diplomats and journalists from the trial of democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday, but international pressure on the regime mounted with the announcement that U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon intends to seek a meeting with its leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe." Suu Kyi visit 'was part of plot' "A senior Myanmar government official has said a plot by 'anti-government forces' was behind the visit of an American man to the house of Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's detained opposition leader."

Opinion. Cheney Lost to Bush (David Brooks, New York Times) "But the bottom line is that Obama has taken a series of moderate and time-tested policy compromises. He has preserved and reformed them intelligently. He has fit them into a persuasive framework. By doing that, he has not made us less safe. He has made us more secure."