In The News

With Assurances, Iran Might Accept a Nuclear Deal

Sadegh Zibakalam January 11, 2006
While the US prepares to propose UN Security Council sanctions against Iran for its nuclear enrichment program, other Western powers seek a less harsh approach to the issue. On December 21, Britain, France and Germany met a high-level Iranian team to discuss options for defusing international tensions. The main European proposal encourages Iran to allow their nuclear fuel to be manufactured in...

Ahmadinejad’s Challenge to the World

Dieter Bednarz December 19, 2005
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has expressed more religious fanaticism than any Iranian president since Khomeini’s revolution. His campaign promises included a pledge to close the stock exchange (it violates the Islamic prohibition of gambling) and during a speech before the UN, he claimed enlightenment. While his behavior may seem absurd, his increasingly inflammatory rhetoric worries Western politicians...

Watchword of the Day – Beware the Caliphate

Elisabeth Bumiller December 16, 2005
In describing terrorism’s threat, US government and military officials evoke the specter of the seventh-century Islamic empire that stretched throughout the Middle East and included areas of Southwest Asia, North Africa and Spain. Historically, the empire was known as the “caliphate,” and US leaders warn that the ultimate goal of Islamic militants is to reestablish it. The word “caliphate”...

Russian Civil Society Will Find It Harder to Breathe

Liliana N. Proskuryakova December 8, 2005
Since 1991, hundreds of thousands of non-governmental orgnanizations (NGOs) have sprung up in Russia, enjoying a level of freedom unthinkable in the Soviet years. Yet following the pro-democratic revolutions in the former members of the Soviet Union, that freedom may be disappearing, says Liliana N. Proskuryakova. Russian civil society will face a host of new restrictions under new legislation...

Rice Visit Fails to Build Bridges

David Crossland December 7, 2005
Condoleezza Rice’s visit to Berlin was quickly derailed from its purpose of establishing a harmonious trans-Atlantic relationship by the sensitive and inflammatory issue of torture. German Chancellor Angela Merkel reported that Rice had admitted the US made a mistake by abducting Khaled al-Masri, a German citizen wrongly suspected of involvement in the 9/11 terror attacks, imprisoning and, he...

Mission to Save Planet is “Failing”

December 6, 2005
Two separate groups have recently released dismal assessments of the state of the world, warning that humanity is not doing enough to make life on the planet equitable, sustainable and safe. The World Economic Forum (WEF) has lambasted national governments for failing to act decisively against global warming, warning that unchecked climate change is already exacerbating a host of other human...

Is Strategy For Victory in Iraq an Empty Package?

Joan Johnson-Freese December 6, 2005
Nearly three years after the US-led invasion of Iraq, the White House has released its plan to bring stability and democracy to Iraq. Yet, while that plan adequately addresses the role that Iraqis are to play in securing their country, it must now be followed by a strategy that addresses the roles that the American public and army will play in that same long fight. At the moment, the American...