In The News

Burma: Feel-Good US Sanctions Wrongheaded

David I. Steinberg May 19, 2004
President Bush's recent decision to extend sanctions against Burma for another year is emotionally satisfying but ineffective as a means of promoting democracy in the military-ruled state, argues David I. Steinberg, Director of Asian Studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. Although US allies like India or Southeast Asian nations share its concern about the junta...

A Change in the Climate

Vanessa Houlder May 19, 2004
The efficacy of the 1997 Kyoto environmental treaty, designed to limit greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, hangs on Russia’s actions in the coming months. The protocol requires the participation of 55 percent of industrialized nations, and without Russian support, it lacks a deciding vote. Internal debate in Russia has focused the potential economic impacts on its struggling economy; those in...

Egyptians decry 'gay' U.S. abusers in Iraq

Patrick Letellier May 17, 2004
Three hundred Egyptians rallied in Cairo last week, blaming the recent abuse at Abu Ghraib prison on “homosexual American executioners.” Graphic photos of American soldiers torturing and sexually abusing Iraqi prisoners have inspired anger across the Middle East. The Cairo protest worries human rights advocates, who say that tying torture to homosexuality fits into a larger political agenda. The...

Across Spectrum, Politicians Condemn U.S.

William Pratt May 14, 2004
As the sixtieth anniversary of D-Day approaches, German foreign minister Joschka Fischer arrived in Washington with glowing praise for US conduct during World War II. But his account of recent American military actions was strongly critical. As more details of the Iraqi prison abuse scandal emerge, Fischer said the Bush administration must “restore U.S. moral leadership in the world.” Fischer’s...

Muslims: Judge Us Not By Un-Islamic Acts of Few

Parvez Ahmed May 12, 2004
In the following article, two Muslim scholars associated with the Washington based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) argue that the American led war in Iraq is becoming defined by brutality, torture and humiliation by both, American soldiers and Iraqis. According to these scholars, the humiliation and the torture of prisoners at the Iraqi Abu Ghraib prison, and the subsequent...

Berg's death augurs ill for Arab societies

May 12, 2004
In the past few weeks, the world has been stunned by the evidence of US and coalition troops abusing Iraqi prisoners in their custody. Now, the world is shocked once again with a video of the beheading of an American civilian by anti-US Iraqi insurgents. As the editorial in one of the Middle East's most respected papers, the Daily Star of Lebanon puts it, "the barbaric and ultimately...

U.S. Training African Forces to Uproot Terrorists

Craig S. Smith May 11, 2004
In response to growing concerns over terrorist group activity in North Africa, the US is launching a campaign to beef up government forces in several African countries. Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad, and Senegal are among the countries that will be receiving American training as well as trucks and equipment to use against terrorist groups roaming the region. The March bombings in Spain that...