The Beijing Olympics and Russia's actions in Georgia pose new challenges to the US and the western alliance. Is it time for aggressiveness or accommodation? Is there a risk of confrontations that can't be won? Also, NATO troops come under fire from the Taliban, and with less than a week before the presidential nominating conventions begin, what's latest on public opinion.
Banner image: China's Zou Kai, winner of the Horizontal gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games. Photo: Xinhua