In The News

Across Arab World, a Widening Rift

Anthony Shadid February 14, 2007
In many Muslim nations, Sunni and Shiites live and work together as neighbors, and so the growing sectarian conflict in Iraq is unsettling for Muslim nations like Egypt. The divide between Sunnis and Shiites dates back to a disagreement in the 7th century about who should succeed the Prophet Mohammed. Shiites, long disenfranchised in Iraq and Bahrain where they make up a majority and many other...

You’ve Never Had it So Good

February 12, 2007
Although there have been some costs, Britain has gained overall from the globalization of the last decade. Perhaps because of its colonial past, “The Economist” argues, Great Britain has embraced the economic shift in the developed world from manufacturing to services brought on by globalization. The country has seen a decade of solid economic growth and per-capita GDP levels surpassing those of...

How Not to Inflame Iraq

Javad Zarif February 12, 2007
Speaking to the UN Security Council in 2003, just prior to the US invasion of Iraq, Iranian Ambassador Javad Zarif warned the world that, “extremism stands to benefit enormously from an uncalculated adventure in Iraq.” As the US prepares to escalate troops in Iraq to confront an ever-growing insurgency, Zarif once again urges Washington to abandon shortsighted schemes, arguing that an “escalated...

US Signals Flexibility on N. Korea

Demetri Sevastopulo February 12, 2007
Determined to end North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, the US could be willing to take steps toward normalizing relations as soon as disarmament begins, reports “The Financial Times.” US sanctions on North Korean financial assets discouraged other banks from working with the rogue state, and this is bringing the struggling nation back to the negotiating table. Still, the Bush administration...

Traffic Cop in an Unsettled Region

Bernhard Zand February 7, 2007
This month, Riyadh is seeing more diplomatic traffic than usual as high-level envoys from the US, Germany and other nations seek to gain the support of the Saudi government for various initiatives to promote peace in the region. As Bernhard Zand writes, the hidden backdrop for this flurry of activity is the ambiguity of Saudi intentions and the fact that the nation may represent the best...

Bangladesh on the Brink

C. Christine Fair February 7, 2007
A major Muslim nation with a strong Democratic tradition is now under military control, and the international community has barely noticed. National elections were canceled and a state of emergency was declared in Bangladesh. The military took control amid the ongoing quarrel between two major political parties, the Bangladesh National Party and the Awami League. In the past, minority Islamic...

Shiite-Sunni Conflict Rises in Pakistan

David Montero February 6, 2007
Many Muslim nations, despite their varying proportions of Shiites and Sunnis, have seen the representatives of both religious sects banding together to pray, even when one sect constitutes a minority presence in the government. However, many analysts fear that sectarian violence in Baghdad could spark similar resentment beyond Iraq’s borders. For example, suicide bombers recently attacked a...