In The News

Wolfowitz Corruption Drive Rattles World Bank

Steven R. Weisman September 15, 2006
The World Bank’s goal is to alleviate poverty by providing low-interest loans to some of the poorest countries in the world. Yet those poorest countries also have high rates of corruption. Critics of World Bank leadership question whether the fight against corruption will take priority over the fight against poverty, eventually diminishing assistance to the countries most in need. Critics express...

Losing the War on Terror

Ahmed Rashid September 11, 2006
Extremists continue to demonstrate that they can thwart the technological superiority of the modern world. The radicals may not gain much in the way of territory or even converts to their cause, but they certainly needle world leaders and instigate fear among substantial segments of populations of the most comfortable nations in the world. The guerilla fighters hide among civilians, thus...

Living Under Police Protection: Advocates for Muslim Women Face Constant Danger

Cordula Meyer September 11, 2006
The legal system is often helpless, when it comes to intervention on cultural or family differences, such as assisting women who refuse to enter arranged marriages. Or the police help arrives too late. Muslim women who want to shed cultural restrictions endure taunts, brutal attacks and even death. Intimidation is so intense that some lawyers refuse to assist Muslim women in family disputes....

Precious Wetlands Rapidly Disappearing

Hiroaki Sato August 30, 2006
Some deride wetlands as swamps, and others regard them as invaluable habitat providing a buffer during floods, a system that contributes to climate moderation and a habitat for diverse wildlife. The US Clean Water Act was supposed to prevent the discharge of pollutants into rivers, lakes and coastal waters of that nation – and later expanded to include wetlands. In 1988, US Congress devised a...

Pakistan's Awkward Balancing Act on Islamic Militant Groups

Pamela Constable August 30, 2006
Pakistan presents itself as an ally in the US war on terror, but looks the other way when it comes to groups who instigate attacks in Afghanistan and India. But that two-sided approach could become more challenging as more evidence emerges of Pakistani links to recent cases: the July bombing of a commuter train in Bombay and the August arrest of British citizens who planned to bomb airlines over...

Gauging Terror – Part I, Lebanon

Fawaz A. Gerges August 15, 2006
The world remains divided about the best way to respond to extremism – fierce military retaliation versus controlled anger that focuses on diplomacy, tolerance and the power of example. This two-part series examines the viability of two responses: Israel’s fierce invasion of Lebanon after the kidnapping of two soldiers and India’s restrained reaction after train bombings in Mumbai that killed...

The Coming Tsunami of Trash

Niall Ferguson August 14, 2006
Oceans provide food, transportation and beauty – and a place to hide trash. Yet the trash is more obvious, particularly plastic, which takes more than a century to degrade and piles up as small islands in some parts of the world. Ocean pollution exemplifies the “tragedy of the commons,” when a public resource gets abused by many and protected by none. The 1994 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea...