Paper Star Getaway

Style, Warfare and George Washington
It’s a good thing wars aren’t decided on “style points” the way sports increasingly seem to be.
3 DECEMBER 2014 DIPLOMAT JAMES R. HOLMES

... Silly comparison? Yes and no. In war the final result in a sequence of actions is the one that counts. A football season, by contrast, is made up of 12 discrete actions against 12 different adversaries, each theoretically as important as any other. And sure, a team should be judged by how dominant it appears against a variety of opponents. Momentum counts. Still, it’s unnerving to think of how the American Patriots would have fared had some committee been empowered to referee this republic’s destiny.

That sounds like an effort at prediction. And oddsmakers prophesying the outcomes of seesaw endeavors like sports or warfare have a spotty track record at best. In all likelihood no committee would’ve granted a farm team like the Pats the chance to compete against the mighty Redcoats. And yet GW’s team prevailed when it mattered most. Better to settle the fates of nations on the field of play.  Read More

Winging It: Backstage at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show With Tommy Ton
3 DECEMBER 2014 STYLE TOMMY TON

Victoria’s Secret took its annual fashion extravaganza on the road to London this year, but where the Angels go, Tommy Ton follows. Until the show airs on CBS next Tuesday, December 9, the closest you’re going to get to Candice, Doutzen, Karlie, and Joan are these exclusive photos.  Read More  

US: Iran launches airstrikes in Iraq against IS
3 DECEMBER 2014 ASSOCIATED PRESS KEN DILANIAN, VIVIAN SALAMA *

... Washington and Tehran are locked in tough negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. But the two adversaries have been fighting parallel campaigns on the same side in Iraq to defend the Shiite-dominated government — and the region's Kurds — from IS militants who seized a large section of the country.

It has long been known that Iranian troops and advisers have been fighting alongside Iraqi forces, but until this week there had been no confirmation of Iranian air activity. The timing and nature of the strikes are not clear, but a senior U.S. official said they occurred in Diyala province, which extends from northeast Baghdad to the Iranian border. The official spoke only on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose that information.  Read More

* Salama reported from Baghdad. John Thor-Dahlburg, Lori Hinnant and Lara Jakes in Brussels, Sinan Salaheddin in Baghdad and Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran contributed to this story.