In The News

A Role for the U.N. in Iraq’s Future

March 28, 2003
Once the war is over, the United States will have the unenviable task of restoring order and establishing a democratic government in Iraq. The U.N., with its peacekeeping troops, oil-for-food aid program, and international support, would in most cases be an essential partner in this effort, says this editorial in The New York Times. But the U.S. bypassed the U.N. in its decision to invade Iraq...

Pentagon Adviser is Stepping Down

Stephen Labaton March 28, 2003
Concerned that charges of corruption might distract the US from the war on Iraq, Richard Perle, a senior American defense official, resigned his post. Perle’s interactions with a Saudi arms dealer raised eyebrows this month. Similarly, Perle was hired to advise a communications company about its efforts to be sold to a billionaire from Hong Kong, despite worries from the Department of Defense...

A day at ‘Hyde Park’

Amira Howeidy March 28, 2003
Public demonstrations have been banned in Egypt since the establishment of the "emergency law" in 1967, but that hasn’t stopped hundreds of thousands of citizens from protesting the US-led war on Iraq. Angry students, journalists, lawyers, and religious leaders filled Tahrir Square last week in what has been called the biggest demonstration since the student campaign for democracy in...

Western Media Toeing Official Line

K.K. Katyal March 28, 2003
Media in the US and the UK are too eager to report the "official" news from the war in Iraq, says this opinion piece in India's The Hindu. Western reporters "embedded" with their militaries have lost their objectivity, the author argues, despite having long lectured journalists in the developing world about ethics and responsibility. However, with competition from Al-...

China Raises Tally of Cases and Deaths in Mystery Illness

Elisabeth Rosenthal March 27, 2003
The mysterious pneumonia known as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) that has been plaguing much of Asia has claimed more lives than previously thought. Yesterday China told officials with the World Health Organization that its total cases of SARS number almost 800, with an estimated 31 deaths. Apparently the disease has turned up in Beijing – thousands of miles north of Guangdong...

WTO Rules Against U.S. on Steel Tariff

Elizabeth Becker March 27, 2003
The World Trade Organization made an interim decision that the steel tariffs imposed by US President George Bush last year were illegal, and the decision is not likely to be overturned on appeal. Last spring, Mr. Bush imposed tariffs on most types of steel imported from Europe, Asia and South America. The tariffs received support from the US steel industry, but also protests from US industries...

A Stronger Europe for a Better World

Laurent Fabius March 26, 2003
The war in Iraq will undoubtedly be won, but what about the peace? Former French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius suggests three lessons Europeans should learn to better their own, and the world's position. First, Europe must cooperate to reinvigorate internationalism and multilateralism. Members should work toward this goal through strong encouragement and compliance with international law...