In The News

The Middle East’s Five Crises

Joris Voorhoeve July 16, 2007
The unrest in the Middle East may seem overwhelming, but the key to stability rests in five areas, according to Joris Voorhoeve, former defense minister for the Netherlands – the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the overall conflict between extremists and the government. Practical solutions are possible for each area: With Iraq troubled by...

Doctors Who Kill

Regina Dwyer July 6, 2007
As reports emerge about physicians accused of planting and setting car bombs in the UK, the world grapples for reasons why. Doctors are only human, writes Regina Dwyer, a retired physician, in an essay for the International Herald Tribune. She suggests that a physician intent on terrorism could find rationalizations with the concept of triage, comfort with death and even the situational nature of...

Brilliant Student, Doctor – and Now a Terror Suspect

Ian Herbert July 3, 2007
Physicians worldwide have long shared the motto, “First, do no harm.” Reports suggesting that the suspects in failed car bombings throughout the UK are physicians from the Middle East, Australia and India are unsettling – and make the job of combating terrorism all that more difficult. Analysts have long assumed that soft-power tools, education and economic development, take time, but worked...

North Africa Reluctant to Host US Command

Craig Whitlock June 29, 2007
A US delegation recently traveled to Africa in the hopes of finding a country willing to host AFRICOM, but even strong American allies in the region are unwilling make a commitment. African responsibilities and operations are now divided between US military commands based in Europe and Florida – and the Bush administration decided that Africa warrants its own command base. The US delegation...

Africa and the “War on Terror”: Policing the Undergoverned Spaces

June 26, 2007
Large swaths of land throughout Africa go ungoverned by conventional powers and could offer havens for terrorist groups. A new US command force, known as AFRICOM, plans to unify military deployments in Africa, partner with NGOs and other development agencies, and train local forces, with the goal of creating stability throughout the Saharan belt. Some US analysts worry about terrorists...

The Prison Poets of Guantanamo Find a Publisher

Yochi J. Dreazen June 21, 2007
The word “poetry” comes from an ancient Greek word meaning “I create.” Poems draw on the power of language and connections to express emotions, ideas, experiences and aspirations. Such writing requires solitude and reflection, readily available for prisoners, including those of Guantanamo Bay. The prisoners originally had to hide their creations from guards, using pebbles or spoons to scratch...

Jumping on the US Bandwagon for a “War on Terror”

Susan Moeller June 21, 2007
Since the 9/11 attacks, a US priority has been to eliminate global terror. The US has spent and accrued billions in debt, invading Afghanistan and Iraq and enhancing security procedures in travel and everyday routine. A study of newspaper coverage of Pakistan, following the 9/11 attacks, suggests that journalists, either willingly or unwittingly, contributed to overall public confusion regarding...