In The News

UN Remains Critical In Post-War Iraq

Shashi Tharoor November 19, 2004
The United Nations is seen by many as having suffered collateral damage from the Iraq War. Opinion polls have shown the extent of the loss of faith in the UN, both from countries that supported and opposed the war in Iraq. But as UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications, Shashi Tharoor states, the talk about the irrelevance of the UN is dead wrong. Indeed, from the beginning, Tharoor...

Australia Must Play the Peacemaker on Taiwan

Hugh White November 10, 2004
The current relationship between the United States and China is the strongest in 50 years, writes Professor Hugh White in The Sydney Morning Herald. Yet Taiwan remains a potentially potent flashpoint for conflict between the two superpowers. The United States is grateful to China for its support in the war on terror and for its regional leadership in organizing the six-party talks with North...

Spend $150 Billion Per Year to Cure World Poverty

Daphne Eviatar November 7, 2004
In 2000, the United Nations Millennium Summit laid out its ambitious plans for global development, pledging to drastically reduce poverty by 2015. Economist Jeffrey Sachs was one of the leading strategists behind these goals. A former champion of free-trade, Sachs has since adopted an agenda at odds with the economist orthodoxy. Instead of preaching the merits of busting into poor economies with...

Images and Tasks: Before and After the US Election

Rami G. Khouri November 3, 2004
The outcome of the US presidential election overshadows some of the very real conflicts facing the United States in the Middle East. The author suggests that the challenges to future US foreign policy are mounting, and need to be addressed well – and quickly. The current situation is polarized to a fault, he writes, with civil discourse on both sides hijacked, in a sense, by small groups in...

Saving Iraq

Dina Ezzat November 3, 2004
As violence continues in Iraq, Egypt is organizing an international conference with the hope of uniting the world behind a plan to bring the country peace. Nations participating in the conference will affirm their commitment to the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Iraq. They will also express their support for the interim government and discuss measures to end violence...

Globalization: Europe's Wary Embrace

Philip H. Gordon November 1, 2004
From anti-McDonald's crusader Jose Bové's campaign, to violent clashes between Genoan police and demonstrators, to the anti-globalization theme's growing popularity with left-wing socialist and right-wing nationalist candidates, the idea might seem to be dominating the European political landscape. Not so, says Brookings Institution scholar Philip H. Gordon. In fact, polls show...

First Ever Ruling for Inter-Arab Court

Magda El-Ghitany October 27, 2004
The 22-member Arab League this week handed down a verdict via its business court. Although the judicial body was established in the 1980s, it had remained out of commission until 2003, when the League renewed the court's operations. The inaugural dispute centered on the Tunisian government and a Saudi Arabian company, in which the company sued for damages surrounding the execution of...