In The News

A Bad Idea Is About to Deploy in Darfur

Julie Flint December 19, 2007
As reports of atrocities pour out of the Darfur region, activists have great expectations for a peacekeeping force led by the United Nations. But author Julie Flint, writing for the Daily Star in Lebanon, questions whether a small peacekeeping force, with minimal equipment, can end the violence. The numbers are staggering: The UN force numbers about 26,000, expected to assist 2.5 million refugees...

Why Iran Didn't Cross the Nuclear Weapon Road

Dilip Hiro December 11, 2007
A US national intelligence estimate – a consensus of 16 intelligence agencies – recently concluded that Iran discontinued its nuclear-weapons program due to “international pressure.” Author and Middle East analyst Dilip Hiro examines the chronology of events and argues that Iran started and ended its nuclear-weapons program for one reason: the rise and fall of Saddam Hussein in neighboring Iraq....

American Special Forces in Pakistan: Back to the Future?

Paula R. Newberg November 21, 2007
The reaction to the news that the US Defense Department has decided to send Special Forces trainers to Pakistan’s unruly tribal areas has so far been muted. But the irony of the decision and its long-term implication for the Subcontinent is hard to miss. In the eighties, the US administration poured money and weapons in Pakistan to train the Mujahideen to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. The...

Time for Reality Check in Iran

Dilip Hiro November 19, 2007
With Iran continually expanding its uranium enrichment program despite warnings from the UN Security Council, there has been growing talk of strict sanctions against the country, even murmurs of military action. The idea of military action floated by American neo-conservatives is strongly opposed by many in the US administration. A UN sanction against Iran also appears to be problematic. A...

An Exit Strategy for Crooks and Dictators

Victor Mallet November 16, 2007
Cruel dictators and corrupt politicians who lose favor of their constituents often cling to power to escape retribution. Sometimes deals, including pardons or exile, are made with leaders who follow. “In an ideal world, criminals would be punished for their crimes without regard for their status,” writes Victor Mallet for the Financial Times, noting that political expediency often dictates the...

Emergency for Pakistan – and the World

Ahmed Rashid November 12, 2007
The United States has long considered Pakistani President-General Pervez Musharraf an essential ally in its war on terror and provides more than $1 billion in annual foreign aid, most of which goes to the military for fighting terrorism. But Pakistan’s constitution prohibits Musharraf, who took office by coup in 1999, from serving another term as president while also serving as army chief. With...

Dialogue of Democracy: Indian Muslims Visit Israel

Tufail Ahmad November 7, 2007
Many Muslim nations, including Indonesia, Bangladesh and Malaysia, decline diplomatic relations with Israel, and the president of Iran has gone so far as to call for eradication of Israel. Yet refusing to meet with an opponent is not statesmanship. Last August, a visit of Indian Muslims to Israel was the first of its kind, meant to nurture a connection based on democracy. Muslims in India have...