In The News

US Rout Is Iran's Condition to Talk to Washington

David Ignatius December 7, 2006
The Iraq Study Group Report, a unanimous and unflinching assessment of the war, offers 79 recommendations to the Bush administration for bringing the war to an end. Nations as diverse as Iran, Israel and the UK, which all have an interest in the conflict, do agree on one point: Few options exist for delivering stability to Iraq. So far, the US has refused to talk to Iraqi neighbors Syria or...

Will Guns Fall Silent in South Asia?

Paula R. Newberg December 5, 2006
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s recent announcement that Pakistan is willing to give up its claim to Kashmir under certain conditions has rekindled hopes for a settlement. It also underlines the need for finding peace in Kashmir if South Asia is to break out of the grip of misery. Violent conflict changes the basic equations of governance, and sustained violence makes it all the more...

Iraqi Civil War Shrinks US Options

Trudy Rubin December 4, 2006
Any plan for an organized exit of US troops from Iraq depends on the government having some semblance of control over the streets and oil fields. With a sharp rise in sectarian violence, the US military trains Iraqi factions to fight one another in civil war – a tremendous waste of time and resources. Journalist Trudy Rubin notes that it’s amazing how long it took for civil war to break out...

Secrets, Lies and Sweatshops

November 27, 2006
US multinational companies that rely on factories overseas often tout how their strict labor rules protect human rights. For example, Wal-Mart stops doing business with factories in China after four warnings on wage or scheduling violations. But factories under contract with multinationals have learned how to circumvent the regulations by hiring coaching firms that fake employee payroll records...

Was Spy Murdered in Russian Power Fight?

November 27, 2006
Alexander Litvinenko’s death by radioactive polonium 210 was unusual enough. But the long and agonizing death also gave the former KGB spy time to issue a public accusation against Russian President Vladmir Putin for murder. Litvinenko had been investigating the death of a journalist long critical of the Putin administration. The reach from one country into another for investigations as well as...

Why Churchill Opposed Torture

Niall Ferguson November 26, 2006
While the US Military Commissions Act is considered more liberal than previous US congressional proposals concerning prisoners of war, it still opens the door to torture and long periods without trial. With the act, the US president assumes the right “‘to interpret the meaning and application of the Geneva Convention.’” The Geneva Convention, adopted in 1929, influenced the treatment of war...

Globalization and God – Part I

Pratap Bhanu Mehta November 23, 2006
The politics of religious respect has become more complex in recent years as the magnifying glass of the secular West focuses on Islam – and religion in general. This two-part series examines the globalization of religion and its influence on international politics. The judgmental quality of any moral system instigates conflict with others who do not believe. Policy analyst Pratap Bhanu Mehta...