In The News

Democracy Group Looks to Aid Iraq

April 17, 2003
Can Taiwan teach Iraq lessons in democracy? Taiwanese officials think post-Saddam Iraq can learn much from its “young democracy”, since Iraq has before it a road Taiwan has already taken – from authoritarianism to modern democracy. So while many countries are still bidding for economic contracts, Taiwan is one among the few to actively concern itself with the country's transformation to...

Paris Takes Pragmatic Line as Poll Shows Isolation Fear

Paul Webster April 16, 2003
France: some say isolated diplomatically, but determined to press on for Iraq reconstruction.

IMF Riven by US-Europe Tiff Over Iraqi Debt

April 15, 2003
The rehabilitation and reconstruction of a post-war Iraq is quickly emerging as a complex issue of global proportions. Iraqi liabilities are estimated at over $380 billion. While the United States favors debt forgiveness, other major UN Security Council member countries, such as France, Germany and Russia are less inclined to support complete debt forgiveness. International financial...

Iraq War Ends, Not Europe's Acrimony with the US

Shada Islam April 15, 2003
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spain's Jose Maria Aznar have joined France and Germany in demanding that the United Nations play the central role in administering and rebuilding post-Saddam Iraq. Not only does the UN have the experience and the expertise to handle Iraq's reconstruction, it is the only body with a legal mandate to do so. UN oversight, EU leaders argue, will be...

French Islam Wins Officially Recognized Voice

Elaine Sciolino April 14, 2003
As part of a national project to create what Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has called "an official Islam of France," delegates from mosques throughout the country voted for members of a new council that would officially represent France’s five million Muslims. Mr. Sarkozy said that organizing France's Muslims is the way to fight "the Islam of cellars and garages that has...

Europe Seems to Hear Echoes of Empires Past

Richard Bernstein April 14, 2003
The United States has long been acknowledged as a world superpower. However, following the success of the US led war in Iraq, some observers in Europe argue that the United States is also becoming an imperial power, akin to the great Roman and British empires. American military victories in Afghanistan, Kosovo and the Persian Gulf War of 1991 are cited as examples of American global power and...

U.S. Sharply Scolds Syria and Threatens Sanctions

David Stout April 14, 2003
Following the toppling of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the Bush administration warned Syria to "ponder the implications" of supporting terrorism, developing chemical weapons and harboring fugitives from Saddam Hussein’s regime. Despite issuing harsh warning, the Bush Administration insists that it will explore all diplomatic and economic options in dealing with Syria. Syria has denied all...