In The News

What Does America Mean by Democracy in Iraq?

Salamander Davoudi November 7, 2003
The Financial Times review on Arab press commentary for the past week highlights some of the most hotly debated issues on security in the Middle East. An article in Al-Hayat says that the United States should not draft a constitution for Iraq, but rather that such a job should be done by an elected Iraqi legislative body; moving west, another of its editorials argues that "Israel has...

Iraq Said to Have Tried to Reach Last-Minute Deal to Avert War

James Risen November 6, 2003
Could the war in Iraq have been averted with last-minute concessions by Saddam Hussein's regime? There were offers on the table in February, says this report in The New York Times. Iraqi intelligence officials are reported to have approached a Lebanese-American businessman to outline their position, who in turn met with Richard Perle, an influential adviser to the White House. The...

President Bush Discusses Freedom in Iraq and Middle East

George W. Bush November 6, 2003
President Bush challenged Middle Eastern countries – allies and enemies alike – to embrace democracy and recognize the fall of Saddam Hussein as "a watershed event in the global democratic revolution." In a speech given in honor of the 20th anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy, Bush aligned his administration's intentions in Iraq with efforts to establish democracy...

Grievances That Can Bring Globalization to Grief

Larry Rohter November 5, 2003
Ten years ago, an American company won a bid to extract lithium from Bolivia's rich deposits. Protests from the impoverished Indian majority – who feared that the deal would only make the rich richer and leave most Bolivians worse off – helped stop the deal. Now, Bolivians may be regretting that decision. Such a deal would have forced greater investment in the nation and perhaps have...

US Situation in Iraq and Afghanistan

John McCain November 5, 2003
In an address to the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, Senator John McCain gives his view on the progress in Iraq. McCain asserts that US troop deployment is too low to ensure proper security and the decision to hand over security to Iraqis with minimal training is foolish. He claims that in continuing to mention exit strategy the US administration hinders its cause by sending the wrong...

Yukos Names Kukes as New CEO

Arkady Ostrovsky November 4, 2003
An American citizen, Simon Kukes, was named the new chief CEO of the Russian oil company, Yukos, after his predecessor was arrested on charges of tax evasion, embezzlement, and theft. When the Yukos scandal first broke, foreign investors became wary that Russia would begin rolling back privatization measures made during the 1990s. To ease such concerns, the Kremlin has reiterated its commitment...

Mysteries of Trade Diplomacy

Ernesto Zedillo November 3, 2003
A month before the World Trade Organization (WTO) trade talks at Cancún, the US joined the European Union in favoring "perpetual agricultural protectionism." Consequently, when trade negotiators met in September in Cancún, the joint US-EU proposal did not seek to eliminate export subsidies. Instead, it aimed to provide legal support for agricultural protectionism. Zedillo argues that...