President Barack Obama on Friday announced that virtually all U.S. troops will come home from Iraq by the end of the year — at which point he can declare an end to America's long and costly war in that Middle Eastern nation.

“In a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part to invent is the end,” a historian once wrote. Gadhafi’s death is just the latest in the Arab Spring, and the region is still in the throes of an unpredictable transformation.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will continue "frank" talks with Pakistani officials Friday, a day after urging the nation's prime minister to strengthen efforts to combat terrorism, senior State Department officials said.