In The News

US Trade Policy: Legacy of the Sorcerer's Apprentice

Bernard K. Gordon November 5, 2004
As US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick prepares to depart the Bush administration, his record should prompt a re-evaluation of US trade policy. Under Zoellick, the US has negotiated Free-Trade Areas (FTAs) with 12 countries – and is in the process of negotiating 10 more. While FTAs can be an effective means of spurring progress when global trade is floundering, argues Professor Bernard K....

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...

Is Putin an Anti-Globalization Hero?

Liliana N. Proskuryakova November 3, 2004
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made few friends within the anti-globalization movement, despite government actions that – on the surface, at least – reflect goals espoused by demonstrators – from Seattle to Genoa. Liliana N. Proskuryakova argues that anti-globalization activists have held their applause, as they believe Putin's inconsistent policies betray a different agenda: His...

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...

An Arab "Martyr" Thwarted

Neil MacFarquhar November 2, 2004
Militants and insurgents in Iraq have continuously attracted the world's attention as they carried out their beheadings and suicide bombings. Not all of the fighters, however, are Iraqis. According to this New York Times article, many of the suicide bombers are, in fact, Saudis, Lebanese, and Kuwaitis who are recruited through "an underground railroad funneling fighters to Iraq."...

Bin Laden Lauds Costs Of War to US

John Mintz November 2, 2004
In a full version of Osama bin Laden’s recent videotaped address, the al-Qaeda leader thanked current US president George W. Bush for helping him bankrupt America. “It has appeared to some analysts and diplomats that the White House and we are playing as one team toward the economic goals of the United States, even if the intentions differ," he said. According to bin Laden, the US invasion...

Textile Quotas to End, Punishing Carolina Towns

Elizabeth Becker November 2, 2004
With the global textile quota system coming to an end in early 2005, the potential winners and losers of the previous system are becoming apparent. While several big developing countries specializing in the textiles will have the largest shares of the US$495 billion textile trade regime, others – whether industrialized countries like the US or under-developed countries like Cambodia – will see...