In The News

In the Midst of War, Bloggers Are Talking Across the Front Line

Sarah Ellison August 3, 2006
Both Israeli and Lebanese citizens rely on the internet to provide live updates of their experiences. Before the fighting started, communications across the border were rare, as Lebanon prohibits Israeli citizens from crossing the border, and there are no phone connections between the two states. While most of the bloggers are Western educated, the conversations come in all forms, ranging from...

What Can Israel Achieve?

Immanuel Wallerstein August 2, 2006
There has long been violence between Arabs and Jews, particularly after the creation of Israel in 1948. By relying on its strong military and outside support – first from the Soviet Union, then France and later the US – Israel has survived as a nation. But some question how long this strategy will work. Pointing to parallels between US President Bush’s invasion of Iraq and Israel’s conflict with...

Money Can’t Buy Us Democracy

Akbar Ganji August 2, 2006
Cash won’t promote democracy in Iran, and anyone who claims it will is a swindler, writes Akbar Ganji, an Iranian journalist. Money from outsiders can support despotism, but democracy must swell from citizens’ hearts and minds. Iran’s oppression has deep historical roots, and the international community can best help Iran, Ganji writes, by creating conduits that allow diverse dissident voices to...

Opening a Second Front

Georg Mascolo August 2, 2006
Ready to seek sanctions against Iran in July, US President George Bush assumes that Hezbollah’s offensive against Israel, sponsored by Iran, was designed to distract the US and Israelis. With UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urging support for a ceasefire, Bush urges restraint, yet maintains that Iran’s goal is to spur chaos, particularly for moderate governments in the region, allowing the price...

The Next Steps With Iran

Henry A. Kissinger August 1, 2006
The US, the UK, France, Germany, Russia and China, also known as the Six, still await an answer from Iran on a proposed package that would curb nuclear development. Iran poses “twin challenges” that the Six can no longer avoid: Iran’s desire for nuclear weapons symbolizes its reach for modernity, while fostering a religious extremism that resists modernization. So far, the Six have not issued a...

South Asia Arms Race – Is It Paranoia?

Shahzeb Jillani August 1, 2006
A report released by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) claims that Pakistan is developing a reactor capable of producing enough plutonium to make up to 50 nuclear weapons per year. With its release timed perhaps to derail the deal for the US to sell civilian nuclear technology to India, the report has not swayed US support for the deal. The Bush administration remains...

The Core Issue: Musharraf

V. Sudarshan July 31, 2006
As recently as 2005, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf declared an “irreversible” peace process between their two countries. However, terrorist attacks in a series of Indian cities undermined that accord, and the G-8, abiding by India’s request, has put the Pakistani government on watch. Government sources in India speculate on potential connections...