In The News

Chávez's 'Monitors' Are Really Electoral Tourists

Andres Oppenheimer August 8, 2004
In an upcoming recall election, the Venezuelan public will decide whether current president Hugo Chavez will be allowed to remain in office for the remainder of his term. Preparing for the election, Chavez has placed restrictions on electoral monitoring groups that rank among the strictest in recent Latin American history. The European Union has responded by announcing that it will not dispatch...

Saudi Surprise

Mohamed El-Sayed Said August 6, 2004
The Saudi government is attempting to rescue U.S. President George W Bush from his ill-fated venture in Iraq by declaring an initiative to send multinational Muslim troops to the war torn country. Criticism of President Bush’s handling of the Iraq War is rising, jeopardizing his chances for reelection this coming November. Saudi Arabia’s proposition could provide Bush with a convenient exit...

UN Efforts in Iraq No Walk in the Park

Benny Widyono August 5, 2004
Symbolically, the rift between the US and the UN has been healed. An interim Iraqi government has assumed sovereignty, and a newly-appointed Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General has been dispatched to Iraq. Yet, according to former UN official and Cambodia expert Benny Widyono, the challenge confronting UN peacekeepers remains daunting and dangerous. Iraq is still rife with...

Can America Regain Its Soft Power After Abu Ghraib?

Joseph S. Nye, Jr. July 29, 2004
One of the heaviest costs of the Iraq War has been the loss of America’s reputation worldwide, writes Harvard professor Joseph S. Nye, Jr. The image of America as an arrogant, global bully is increasingly commonplace around the world. The abuses at Abu Ghraib prison have exacerbated this negative perception of the US, and contributed to the decline of America’s 'soft power'. For...

Myanmar: Sanctions Won't Work

Jeffrey Sachs July 27, 2004
Fourteen years ago Myanmar’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won an election against Myanmar's incumbent military government. After the elections, however, the military annulled the results, leading the US to impose economic sanctions against Myanmar’s government. Economist Jeffrey Sachs, head of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, argues in this op-ed that the USA should not...

Breaking for the Border

Salah Hemeid July 16, 2004
Some blame for the violence pervading war-torn Iraq rests in the hands of its neighbors, Iraqi officials claim. By facilitating or simply turning a blind eye to the religious militants who infiltrate Iraq in order to attack coalition and Iraqi forces, neighboring countries are undermining stabilization efforts. Iraq plans to step up pressure on its neighbors at an upcoming July 21 meeting in...

Wise Trade Policy Can Address the Roots of Terrorism

Edward Gresser July 8, 2004
A lot of ink has been spent in debating what is the best way to fight the growing terrorist threat coming essentially from Islamic parts of the world. One way the West can help drain the swamps that breed fundamentalism and terrorism is by removing a basic cause of anger and frustration – economic stagnation and unemployment. Trade expert Edward Gresser says the West needs to make its trade...