In The News

Why Most Arabs Ignore the US Presidential Election

Rami G. Khouri October 20, 2004
As the American public bears down for its presidential election, the frenzy of debate in the US is met with a general lack of interest in the Middle East. On the issues of concern, primarily the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the situation in Iraq, Middle Easterners see little difference between the two main candidates. The gap between American policies and Arab interests is widening, says The...

Globalization and the Political Future of Nigeria

Sam Ejike Okoye October 15, 2004
Although some may doubt the impact of globalization on the African continent, the recent surge of world oil prices to their highest recorded levels, triggered by the threat of strike in Nigeria may dispel the myth. If levels remain above US$50 per barrel through the coming winter, a worldwide recession is not out of the question, the article says. Today's economic, scientific, environmental...

In Washington's Good Books?

Khaled Dawoud October 8, 2004
Syria's porous border with Iraq, continuing presence in Lebanon, and harboring of Palestinian groups have all poisoned US-Syrian relations. A recent visit to Damascus by US Assistant Secretary of State Willam Burns may have led to a breakthrough in several diplomatic impasses. "Certainly the dialogue between the US and Syria is a more serious dialogue than we've had in quite a...

Only Hussein Had Full Picture

Bob Drogin October 7, 2004
Based on in depth interrogations with a cooperative Saddam Hussein, a report by the CIA's Iraq Survey Group released Wednesday revealed that the former Iraqi leader’s purported stock of destructive arms was all smoke and mirrors. Apparently, Hussein kept a close watch on his weapons program, and knew that his regime had no capability to make so-called weapons of mass destruction. He kept up...

Patriot Qualms

Paula R. Newberg October 6, 2004
The repercussions of the 2001 US Patriot Act are especially damaging to foreign aid and humanitarian relief. Provisions aiming to undercut terrorist funding have contributed to greater woes for organizations seeking financial backing. Washington-mandated bureaucratic gymnastics have rendered humanitarianism "a logistics nightmare," according to Brookings Institution scholar Paula R....

Making Innocents Pay for Other's Sins

October 6, 2004
The continually fragile security situation in Iraq has bred a climate of fear for most foreigners present there. Soldiers, journalists, and independent civilian workers have all been the victims of kidnappings by insurgent groups in Iraq. Some of the kidnapped make it back to their countries or families, but many abductions have ended in execution, complete with grisly recordings. In light of the...

Lack of Arabic Speakers is a Crack in US Security

Daniel Sneider October 5, 2004
The growing realities of world geopolitics have given non-traditional languages an elevated profile in the US-waged war on terrorism. The recent revelation that over 123,000 hours of FBI-collected audiotapes of terrorist "chatter" had been left untranslated has further sparked a movement toward developing competent translation and cultural agents. The US Army's Defense Language...