In The News

Souring Relations

Ashraf Khalil January 16, 2004
The US effort to stabilize Iraq may not be going as planned, reports this article in Egypt's Al-Ahram Weekly newspaper. Several arguments have erupted of late that threaten to divide Iraq's Interim Governing Council (IGC) and the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority. Disagreements over appointees to the Council, disputes over the role of the United Nations in facilitating a...

Iraqi Planners Hope to Start Trial by Spring

Rajiv Chandrasekaran December 16, 2003
Only days after the capture of deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, Iraqi leaders have already begun planning for his legal prosecution in an Iraqi courtroom. Vowing to choose only a manageable number of charges to bring against the former dictator, Salem Chalabi said the process would not be rushed, but that the trial could begin as early as the spring of 2004. "We don't want to...

Readying for Development

Nevine Khalil December 12, 2003
President Hosni Mubarak traveled from Cairo to Geneva for the first World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) with one message: African, Middle Eastern, and Latin American states must work together to develop their capacities as "IT-savvy" states. President Mubarak envisions a well-integrated system of cooperation, where nations can help each other's development through...

Modern-Day Mercenaries

Raenette Taljaard December 9, 2003
From Iraq to Afghanistan, the US and its allies are relying on private military companies (PMCs) to provide a range of security services commonly associated with national militaries. Raenette Taljaard, Member of Parliament in South Africa, cautions that this move toward the privatization of security should not go un-checked. As unregulated non-state actors motivated by profits, PMCs can serve...

Japan's Mating Culture Extends Baby Drought

David Turner December 9, 2003
The world population will rise to slightly over 9 billion people within the next century. Yet Japan and many European countries face possibly catastrophic population declines. Strikingly low birthrates don’t only threaten economic growth and domestic familial dynamics, but could provoke "shifts in the political weights of countries in the international arena." Concern is so great...

UN Calls for More Aid to Help North Korea Reform

Andrew Ward December 3, 2003
North Korea has seen much of its food aid disappear in the past year, presumably as donor nations aim to pressure Pyongyang to stop its nuclear weapons program. In the shift to a market economy, one million people were left without food, and analysts say that the politically-minded decision to cut off aid is starving the public. Without an increase in aid, North Koreans will be in dire straits...

For the Iraqis, a Missile Deal That Went Sour

David E. Sanger December 1, 2003
Initially reported in the Central Intelligence Agency's October report on Saddam Hussein's weapons programs, it now seems that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il "took Saddam to the cleaners" by cheating him of $10 million. In exchange for the money, which may have been a down payment, North Korea reportedly promised to turn over the technology of their Rodong missile program....