George C. Marshall, the 50th U.S. secretary of state, was both a man of war and a man of peace. As U.S. Army chief of staff in World War II, he coordinated American and allied war efforts; as secretary of state he crafted the economic plan that reinvigorated post-war Europe. Read here for this installment in my series of bios on American secretaries of state.

Photo: George C. Marshall as U.S. Army chief of staff.

Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Defense.

The United States has had troops in Japan since the end of World War II, most of them stationed in the southern island prefecture of Okinawa. Numbers of U.S. personnel there have topped 52,000, and their behavior -- ranging from traffic accidents to incidents of rape -- have frequently irritated Okinawans.

Since 2006, the U.S. and Japan have been working on a deal to move some 9,000 Americans off of Okinawa. On April 27, they announced the rudiments of the deal. Read here for more.

On April 23, 2012, North Korea threatened to attack South Korea and turn Seoul to "ashes." More Kim-family rhetoric? Probably, but the comment underscores North Korea's anger over its failed missile test earlier this month. It also keeps the people of the Korean peninsula -- and the world -- on edge. After all, North Korea does have nuclear weapons capability, and it does not ascribe to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968.

Nor does it want to be told what to do. President Obama has called for North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to avoid provocative actions, but to no avail.

Non-proliferation remains a centerpiece of U.S. foreign policy. Five of the nine nuclear nations have signed onto the NPT; of the other four, all except North Korea agree with non-proliferation. For more about the 1968 non-proliferation treaty, read here. For more on North Korea, stand by.

Photo: Nagasaki, Japan, August 9, 1945.

Photo courtesy U.S. State Department.

Last week North Korea launched a dud of a missile, and the world went into a frenzy of worry and dread. This week, India successfully launched a missile with a range of 3,100 miles that could potentially hit Beijing, China, and hardly anyone noticed.

Why the difference in international and U.S. reactions? Read here for some answers.