In The News

Iran President Facing Revival of Students’ Ire

Nazila Fathi December 25, 2006
Some Iranian students have decided that their president’s bluster doesn’t provide much in the way of jobs or progress. A similar student movement in 1979 overthrew the Iranian government and introduced control by Islamic clerics. More than 20 years later, protesting students are described as wanting more academic and personal freedoms by journalist Nazila Fathi in “The New York Times.” Students...

Two “Little” Palestinian States?

Abdullah Iskandar December 24, 2006
Politics can be messy when a group of voters depend on outside aid. Palestinians elected members of Hamas during summer of 2006, causing alarm among Western nations that provided much aid to the struggling government. Western governments cut aid since the election and civil strife has increased. So the president of the country, a member of the Fatah and supported by the US, has called for early...

Iraq War Fuels Global Jihad

Fawaz A. Gerges December 21, 2006
Muslims initially condemned Al Qaeda’s 2001 attacks on the US. But then the US invaded Iraq, triggering chaos that could overwhelm more than one country throughout the Middle East. As a result, even more moderate Muslims support anyone who defends Muslim lands and values against occupiers, particularly in Palestine and Iraq. Jihadists emerged during the early 1980s, opposed to Egypt and Israel...

Washington’s Iraq Dilemma: Dialogue with Syria Could Serve Bigger Purpose

Matthew Lee December 14, 2006
The Iraq Study Group report recommends diplomatic initiative to resolve the war in Iraq. If the US administration heeds the advice of the Iraq Study Group, by seeking containment of the Iraqi conflict through dialogue with regional powers, one promising candidate would be Damascus. In the second of this two-part series, Matthew Lee explores how, for a brief moment, the interests of the US and the...

Washington’s Iraq Dilemma: Why Engaging Iran Is a Good Idea

George Perkovich December 12, 2006
Many states throughout the Middle East have authoritarian leaders, disgruntled citizens, troubled economies – and governments as tenuous as houses made of cards. The report from the Iraq Study Group warns that the war in Iraq could widen into a regional conflict and encourages US policymakers to change tactics by initiating direct engagement with Iran and Syria to gain their cooperation in...

Will Guns Fall Silent in South Asia?

Paula R. Newberg December 5, 2006
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s recent announcement that Pakistan is willing to give up its claim to Kashmir under certain conditions has rekindled hopes for a settlement. It also underlines the need for finding peace in Kashmir if South Asia is to break out of the grip of misery. Violent conflict changes the basic equations of governance, and sustained violence makes it all the more...

Kazakhstan Learns to Love Borat

Ryan Kennedy December 1, 2006
Kazakhstan leaders were appalled at how the movie “Borat: Cultural Learnings for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” portrayed their nation as backward and anti-Semitic. The comedy-documentary, with a British actor posing as a Kazakh journalist seeking to learn lessons from the US, has yet to be shown in either Kazakhstan or Russia. Initial Kazakh reactions to the film – such as removing...