In The News

Take Mexico Instead

Abdel-Moneim Said July 21, 2003
If colonial ambitions are really the reason America invaded Iraq, why did it choose such a far-flung and relatively resource poor country, asks Egyptian political scholar Abdel-Moneim Said. Why not invade Mexico or Canada? They're closer, wealthier, and just as poor a military match for the superpower. According to Said, America would have every reason to invade these countries if it only...

Setting America above the Law

Soha Abdelaty July 18, 2003
The US and Egypt recently signed a bilateral agreement guaranteeing the immunity of each other's officials and military personnel from prosecution in the International Criminal Court (ICC). Cairo's decision to exempt the US personnel from Court jurisdiction has angered those who uphold the need for an encompassing, multilateral judicial institution. Cairo was initially an enthusiastic...

Wrong on Rights

Harold Hongju Koh July 18, 2003
A powerful recourse for human rights victims is in danger, says Harold Hongju Koh, Professor of International Law at Yale University and former US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. In response to a lawsuit brought by Burmese citizens against the US energy company Unocal, the Bush White House has filed a brief in a California Federal Court to overhaul a...

A Miserly Response to a Global Emergency

Jeffrey Sachs July 17, 2003
Yesterday, 15,000 Africans died of AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria as rich countries praised themselves for their 'generous' contributions to the UN fund set up to fight these diseases. Writing in the Financial Times, Jeffrey Sachs says that rich countries like the US, Britain, France, and Japan all agree that these three health crises are out of control. And yet their governments...

Nuclear Doubts in the House

July 16, 2003
During the Cold War, fear deterred the United States and the Soviet Union from all-out nuclear warfare, and today it makes the prevention of nuclear conflict a chief objective of American foreign policy. However, according to this opinion in The New York Times, a new bill in the US House of Representatives threatens to lower the psychological threshold for nuclear war, a particularly risky...

Is Iraq Becoming a New Vietnam? - Part Two

Timothy Carney July 16, 2003
Seen by a veteran US diplomat with long years in Indochina and a recent stint as an adviser in occupied Iraq, the scene in Saddam Hussein's former stronghold is worrisome but not hopeless. Timothy Carney notes the challenges before the provisional American authority and the issues that have fueled Iraqi discontent. Cultural insensitivity and the tactical clumsiness of a foreign occupying...

US Rebuffs Iran Offer of Nuclear Talks

Guy Dinmore July 14, 2003
Although Iran has indicated its willingness to open direct talks with the US regarding its nuclear program, the Bush administration has not shown any interest. The Administration seems content to work with Europe and Japan to keep economic pressure on Iran. This latest offer of talk is seen as an invitation by the Iranian government to open the door to a wide discussion of contentious issues...