In The News

Army Squeezes Soldier Blogs, Maybe to Death

Noah Shachtman May 9, 2007
Since the invasion of Iraq, the US is managing the first war in which cell phones, laptops, e-mail connections and digital cameras are plentiful, allowing troops to send instant messages and images. With the war in its fifth year, the US Army has ordered troops to clear all blog and e-mail content with supervisors before sending. Failure to obtain supervision can result in court marital or...

Iraq’s Refugee Crisis

Anna Husarska May 7, 2007
The US and its coalition partners invaded Iraq, but have failed to provide for the 2 million Iraqis displaced since the start of the war. Nearly 15 percent of Iraq’s 26.8 million people have been displaced, with most moving to other parts of their war-torn nation or neighboring Jordan and Syria, and smaller numbers headed to Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt. Poor nations throughout the Middle East...

Against the Wall: The US Faces a United Iraq

Humphrey Hawksley May 1, 2007
The US still has a chance to deliver stability in Iraq, as hinted by widespread Iraqi rejection of a wall dividing Sunni and Shia neighborhoods in Baghdad, argues BBC correspondent Humphrey Hawksley. First and foremost, the US must focus on its fight with Al Qaeda. Also, the US must overcome any distaste for Islamist rule and embrace the Shias as the only viable, cohesive body with state-like...

Agni-III Missile Test: Asia’s Latest Great Power Joins the Game

Gwynne Dyer April 24, 2007
Once a nation test fires a missile, all cities and countries within the weapon’s reach can’t help but take pause to mull all possible messages, intentions and relationships. India successfully tested a missile that could reach the Middle East or China’s major cities of Beijing and Shanghai, a capability that could insert more tension into Asian affairs. Journalist Gwynne Dyer speculates that...

Arab Nomads, "Not Pro-Anything," Also Suffer in Darfur

Stephanie McCrummen April 19, 2007
Analysts often categorize the violence in Darfur as a conflict between the nomadic Arabs and agricultural Africans of Western Sudan. The victims of the violence, however, belie an overly simplistic division. Intermarriage, commerce and other contacts have long entwined identity throughout the region, but drought, land shortages and government support for the Janjaweed militias, which are guilty...

The World’s Growing Nuclear Club

Humphrey Hawksley April 16, 2007
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), opened for signing in 1968 and in force since 1970, established a nuclear regime intended as temporary until decision could be reached on eliminating nuclear weapons altogether. While the treaty has proven remarkably enduring, its failure to address the ultimate goal and its inability to cope with the nuclear ambitions of North Korea, Iran, Israel,...

Peaceful Resolution of the Iran-UK Crisis: Could It Be a Precedent?

Dilip Hiro April 9, 2007
The UK and Iran scored a mutual diplomatic victory, after negotiating the release of 15 British naval personnel from detention in Tehran. Although the precise details of the negotiations between Britain and Iran remain unclear, the peaceful conclusion to the crisis suggests that direct talks between disputing countries is the best way to resolve contentious issues. To avoid escalation, the Blair...