In The News

Talking to Iran Is Not So Controversial

Ilan Goldenberg July 15, 2008
Americans have no great love for the Islamic Republic of Iran. Ilan Goldenberg, however, argues that Americans have also lost patience with the foreign-policy failures of the Bush administration – and that they are now ready to start reversing those failures by embracing negotiations with Tehran. With the popularity of negotiations increasing dramatically since early 2007, it seems likely that...

Tiny Voices Defy Child Marriage in Yemen

Robert F. Worth July 2, 2008
Poverty, combined with families producing more children than they can afford, can end childhood for girls as young as eight years of age. “Pulled out of school and forced to have children before their bodies are ready, many rural Yemeni women end up illiterate and with serious health problems,” writes Robert F. Worth for the New York Times. “Their babies are often stunted, too.” Some Islamic...

Election Season Wild Card: Covert Operations Against Iran, Al-Qaeda

Kevin Whitelaw July 1, 2008
Nearly three decades after the Iran hostage crisis, confrontation with Iran may again make November’s presidential election susceptible to an “October surprise.” Amid reports that US Special Forces are already operating in Iran, the specter of an escalating conflict with Tehran looms over the presidential campaign. Meanwhile, reports that the US military may begin covert operations in Pakistan...

Labor Row

June 30, 2008
The economies of oil-rich nations depend on immigrant labor from Bangladesh to clean and build, fix and cook. Workers are separated for months from families and work in harsh conditions for low wages in countries with lavish lifestyles. The alleged murder of a Bahraini supervisor by a Bangladeshi mechanic has exposed the inequality and tensions that go hand in hand with relying on immigrant...

Population Woes

Salama A. Salama June 27, 2008
Tragedy unfolds in countries that fail to emphasize family planning or discourage people from having children they cannot afford – and economic hardship compounds the tragedy. Preaching and advertising fail to engage the poor in developing nations, particularly when large numbers are illiterate, argues Salama A. Salama for Al-Ahram Weekly. For some cultures, a large family represents economic...

Iraq Deal With US to End Immunity for Foreign Contractors

Patrick Cockburn June 18, 2008
With a new security agreement being negotiated between the US and Iraq, the two countries tussle over control. Some Iraqi analysts criticize the overall agreement as a signal that the US plans long-term occupation of the country. But others note that a new policy, no longer extending immunity to foreign contract workers who break Iraqi law, signals that the Iraqi government could be taking more...

Oil Majors Say US Restrictions Delay Iran Projects

Benoît Faucon June 12, 2008
Despite surging oil prices, companies investing in Iranian energy projects confront long delays. The US has long imposed sanctions on Iran, and as a result, it becomes more difficult to use American technology or equipment, hindering many foreign ventures in Iran. US companies once exploited legal loopholes to continue operations in Iran, but the September 11th attacks ended that strategy. The...