In The News

The Fallout from the Iraq War

Barry Rubin May 7, 2003
During the Iraq War, media reports on American 24-hour news networks mainly reflected the views of US journalists 'embedded' with the US military. In the Middle East, however, Arab-language networks such as Al-Jazeera presented a starkly different image and interpretation of how things were going on the ground. Middle East scholar Barry Rubin writes that regional media led Arab...

Capitalism Sputters to Life Across Iraq

Maureen Fan May 6, 2003
In the wake of the US-led war in Iraq, free-market capitalism seems to be all the rage. Daily fluctuations in prices and a lack of social order, however, are leaving some Iraqis underwhelmed by their newfound economic freedom. Without proper police protection or market-setting authorities, both consumers and vendors are experiencing the pains of unregulated exchange, profiting on one day and...

Iraqi Nuclear Site Is Found Looted

Barton Gellman May 4, 2003
A specially trained US Defense Department team inspected a major Iraqi radioactive waste repository and discovered that the site had been severely looted. Computers, furniture and equipment appear to have been looted by Iraqi civilians since the beginning of US led military action. However, US authorities remain uncertain as to who might have taken the nuclear materials and why. On site...

Sharon, Abbas Receive Middle East 'Road Map'

Harvey Morris April 30, 2003
A ‘road map’ to Middle East peace, drawn up by the US, the EU, the UN, and Russia, was presented to Ariel Sharon, Israel’s prime minister, and Mahmoud Abbas, the new Palestinian prime minister. EU aid to Palestinians is linked to reform, and it is hoped that the plan will contribute to a stronger Palestinian Authority administration, better conditions for the Palestinians, and a reduction in...

U.S. Troops Fire on Iraqi Protesters, Leaving 15 Dead

Ian Fisher April 29, 2003
Violent clashes between American troops and Iraqis continue even as the United States moves from a military offensive to a humanitarian and reconstruction phase in Iraq. According to a US official account, a group of mostly armed Iraqis began unprovoked fire at the US troops who were stationed at the US Army headquarters in a largely Sunni neighborhood. US troops returned fire in self defense...

Winning the Postwar

Suzanne Nossel April 28, 2003
The Bush Administration has thus far opposed the authority of an International Law regime. However, the current job of rebuilding and democratizing Iraq provides the US with an opportunity to change its policy toward International codes of conduct. If the US were to adhere to the International Law of Occupation, which has been in effect since 1907, perhaps they could convince a wary world that...

Leading Iraqi Scientist Says He Lied to U.N. Inspectors

Judith Miller April 27, 2003
Since the earliest days of fighting, the US-led coalition in Iraq has been searching for the scientists, documents and biological and chemical toxins that would validate Washington’s charges that Iraq had developed a sophisticated program for creating weapons of mass destruction. While there have been few significant discoveries to date, new testimony by one of Iraq’s top scientists, who has...