In The News

Shared Pasts, Different Futures

Abdel-Moneim Said August 19, 2005
Often, examining the past sheds light on events of the present. It is in this vein that Abdel-Moneim Said, in Al-Ahram Weekly, explores a crucial issue: "Is jihad a reaction to colonial oppression?" Using China's turbulent history as a basis for comparison, Said finds that violence is not always the only viable response to such oppression. Indeed, from the Opium Wars to forced...

Washington Grapples with Uzbekistan's Eviction Notice

Ariel Cohen August 17, 2005
On July 31, Uzbek officials gave the US military six months to vacate the Karshi-Khanabad (K-2) air base. While the eviction does not represent a major setback to US strategic interests, it does highlight the tense political atmosphere in Central Asia. The region, comprised largely of former Soviet republics, has been the focus of a quiet tug-of-war between the United States and Russia – now...

How to Be Weapon-Ready NPT Members

Leonard S. Spector August 16, 2005
The simmering trouble with the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs has come to a head, raising serious questions about the future of nonproliferation. These two countries' – one former and one current signatory of the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) – new demands that bend, but do not explicitly break, the NPT rules have resulted in a dangerous standoff. Nonproliferation expert...

An Islamic Alienation

David Rieff August 15, 2005
The London bombings perpetrated by native-born Muslims have forced Europeans to take a serious look at the status of the Continent’s Muslim minority. Suggestions that the Muslim alienation is due to anger in Muslim communities over the Iraq war and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, do not provide an adequate answer. Rieff argues that the reasons of alienation run much deeper than this. Europe’...

FBI Sees Big Threat from Chinese Spies; Businesses Wonder

Jay Solomon August 12, 2005
David Szady, assistant director of the FBI's counterintelligence division claims, "China is the biggest (espionage) threat to the US today." Yet, the bureau's recent campaigns to combat Chinese corporate espionage are receiving mixed reactions, at best. The prosecution of several accused workers has led to anger within the Chinese and Chinese-American communities, as well...

Muslims Unite! A New Reformation Will Bring Your Faith into the Modern Era

Salman Rushdie August 11, 2005
The British government's strategy of relying on traditional, but essentially orthodox, Muslims to help eradicate Islamist radicalism is ineffective, writes Salman Rushdie. Traditional Islam is a broad church that includes millions of tolerant, moderate believers – as well as those at odds with the cultures among which they live. What is truly needed to combat terrorism, says Rushdie, is a...

The New Chauvinism

George Monbiot August 10, 2005
Following the bombings in London last month, a national consensus has emerged in Britain that a renewed sense of patriotism is necessary to combat terrorism. Codes of citizenship and a shared belief in Britain's values, proponents argue, will reduce the risk of domestic terrorism. While patriotism makes citizens less likely to attack one another, it may also make the state more inclined to...