In The News

Will Oil Impose US-Iranian Reconciliation?

Hani Asfour September 1, 2006
After the US invasion of Iraq and then the invasion of Lebanon, speculation abounded about possible war between the West and Iran. Diplomacy experts in Europe and the US urge the Bush administration to open negotiations with Iran about ending the latter’s nuclear research and disarming Hezbollah in Lebanon – as well as ensure world energy supplies. Author Hani Asfour argues that the US has ample...

Iran’s Lebanon Card

George Perkovich August 24, 2006
The growing success of Islamic extremists throughout the Middle East has emboldened Iran. The country flouts demands from the international community and ignores UN Security Council resolutions. As problems mount in the Middle East, Iran can negotiate on several fronts – for example, the country could promise not to interfere in Lebanon or Afghanistan, if it can proceed with nuclear enrichment....

Gauging Terror – Part II, India

Michael Krepon August 17, 2006
Fierce military operations may eliminate individual terrorists, but do nothing to destroy their strategy. Some analysts go as far as to argue that excessive force only encourages hatred, boosting the networks that nurture new recruits. In the second article of this two-part series, author Michael Krepon suggests that India – with almost 20,000 civilians killed in terror attacks since 1994 – has...

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...

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...

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...

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...