In The News

Iran: Bad Tactics or Good Strategy?

Yevgeny Primakov March 20, 2007
In a world of hitherto five official and three unofficial nuclear powers, Iran is keen to join the club, as shown by its non-compliance with the UN Security Council’s resolutions. Although Iran insists that its nuclear program is strictly for peaceful purposes, it has rejected Russian offers to enrich uranium on its territory or in an international center, notes Yevgeny Primakov, the former...

Caught in the Vise of Russia’s Illiberal “Liberal Empire”

Vladimer Papava March 20, 2007
After the disintegration of the USSR, Russia is bent on building an economic empire. By buying key economic entities across the territories of former Soviet republics, it wants to ensure their dependence on Moscow. So far, Russia has successfully controlled the actions of its neighbors by rewarding the obedient with lower gas prices and vice versa. Recently, Russia has banned exports from Georgia...

Debating the Price of Global Warming

Ernesto Zedillo March 19, 2007
World opinion has targeted climate change as a priority – and citizens increasingly pressure their governments and businesses to take action, notes Ernesto Zedillo, director for the Yale Center of Globalization. A study commissioned by the UK, known as the Stern Review, “claims that lack of such action will commit the world to overall costs – due to natural disasters of increasing ferocity,...

Southeast Asia Could Have Power to Spare

March 16, 2007
Often linked with disasters, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions could offer some hidden energy benefits. Geothermal energy is clean, with no emissions, and yet such sources have hardly been tapped. Researchers warn that drilling could cause dangerous seismic activity, particularly in the earthquake-prone region of Southeast Asia. Other potential problems in developing nations include organizing...

Wal-Mart Unveils Plans to Score Electronics on Environmental Sustainability

March 16, 2007
The world’s largest retailer has a reputation for slashing prices and giving consumers a bargain – so much so that Wal-Mart’s tactics with labor and suppliers often become controversial. Although adding environmental protections to any product often raises prices or decreases visibility in terms of packaging, Wal-Mart has set out to promote environmental sustainability. Starting in 2008, the...

The Poisonous Legacy of the Iraq War – Part I

Fawaz A. Gerges March 15, 2007
Four years ago, the US invaded Iraq and expected to install a democratic government. This two-part series examines how US military invention has influenced Muslim hearts and minds around the globe. In the first article, author and Middle East analyst Fawaz Gerges describes how the goals of jihadist fighters have evolved. Before the 1990s, such radical groups targeted Middle Eastern governments...

Iran-Saudi Arabian Embrace: A New Beginning?

Dilip Hiro March 9, 2007
The US, struggling to control violence in Iraq, has ratcheted up its threat against neighboring Iran as a primary culprit. Longstanding US concerns about Iran defying the international community by developing nuclear weapons have recently been heightened by its accusation that the Islamic state has been supporting Shiite militias against Sunnis in Iraq’s ongoing civil war. Conservative US...