In The News

Money Can’t Buy Us Democracy

Akbar Ganji August 2, 2006
Cash won’t promote democracy in Iran, and anyone who claims it will is a swindler, writes Akbar Ganji, an Iranian journalist. Money from outsiders can support despotism, but democracy must swell from citizens’ hearts and minds. Iran’s oppression has deep historical roots, and the international community can best help Iran, Ganji writes, by creating conduits that allow diverse dissident voices to...

Opening a Second Front

Georg Mascolo August 2, 2006
Ready to seek sanctions against Iran in July, US President George Bush assumes that Hezbollah’s offensive against Israel, sponsored by Iran, was designed to distract the US and Israelis. With UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urging support for a ceasefire, Bush urges restraint, yet maintains that Iran’s goal is to spur chaos, particularly for moderate governments in the region, allowing the price...

South Asia Arms Race – Is It Paranoia?

Shahzeb Jillani August 1, 2006
A report released by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) claims that Pakistan is developing a reactor capable of producing enough plutonium to make up to 50 nuclear weapons per year. With its release timed perhaps to derail the deal for the US to sell civilian nuclear technology to India, the report has not swayed US support for the deal. The Bush administration remains...

Russia Reaches Out to Venezuela

Alan Cullison August 1, 2006
Opposed to US foreign policy promoting democracy, leading to political unrest and conflict throughout the Middle East and Central Asia, the Kremlin has become more assertive. Russia has signed a deal with Venezuela, offering the small nation advanced fighter aircraft, helicopters and assault rifles. The Bush administration – wary of the leftist movement throughout South America, and Venezuela in...

The Next Steps With Iran

Henry A. Kissinger August 1, 2006
The US, the UK, France, Germany, Russia and China, also known as the Six, still await an answer from Iran on a proposed package that would curb nuclear development. Iran poses “twin challenges” that the Six can no longer avoid: Iran’s desire for nuclear weapons symbolizes its reach for modernity, while fostering a religious extremism that resists modernization. So far, the Six have not issued a...

A New Middle East, or Rice’s Fantasy Ride?

Rami G. Khouri July 31, 2006
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice described the escalating violence between Lebanon and Israel as “birth pangs of a new Middle East.” The US has vested interests in its support of Israel, and its alliances with Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, as well as the eventual eradication of Islamic Jihadist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. However, columnist Rami G. Khouri for...

Managing Globalization: Why Trade Talks Do Little for the Poorer Countries

Daniel Altman July 31, 2006
With failure of the Doha Round talks, many ask whether free trade really benefits developing countries. Two studies suggest no, though each differ on the root cause of such a global dilemma, according to “International Herald Tribune” columnist Daniel Altman, and that reveals the complexities of trade. Sandra Polaski of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace argues that lowering tariffs...