In The News

French Attack Sparks Riots in Ivory Coast

Rory Carroll November 8, 2004
Even after attaining independence from French colonial control, many West African states maintain strong and sometimes dependent relationships with their former imperial rulers. The Ivory Coast is no exception. Since the 2002 outbreak of civil war, the French military has policed a delicate ceasefire between the two sides. Last week, Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo broke the ceasefire by bombing...

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...

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...

The War on Iraq Has Made Moral Cowards of Us All

Scott Ritter November 1, 2004
A recent report from the Lancet medical journal claims that there have been 100,000 Iraqi civilian casualties since the beginning of the war in Iraq. The US and UK governments have moved to discredit these findings, but Scott Ritter, former weapons inspector in Iraq, argues that they are trying to deny the hard facts. In a war that claims to benefit from precision technology, the US-led military...

A Timely Initiative

October 28, 2004
At a meeting last week in Kazakhstan, three of the world's most populous countries agreed to collaborate and redefine efforts against terrorism in Asia. Though refraining from outright criticism of the US-led endeavors, foreign ministers from India, Russia, and China agreed that incidences of terrorism in their respective countries are often put aside in favor of Western agendas. They hope,...