In The News

Iraqi Elections Have Not Set Off a Democracy Contagion

Fawaz A. Gerges March 29, 2010
US policy in Iraq following the 2003 invasion focused on imposing democracy. But this policy has only served to perpetuate sectarian allegiance divided roughly along religious or ethnic lines, according to Middle East expert Fawaz A. Gerges. The effects endure today: the recent Iraqi parliamentary elections demonstrated that Iraq’s political system remains fragmented, inhibiting the formation of...

Iran’s Opposition Seeks More Help in Cyberwar With Government

Nazila Fathi March 23, 2010
The ongoing battle in Iran following last year's disputed election is increasingly moving online and that means more countries are involved, whether they want to be or not. Iranian opposition activists are applauding a recent decision by the US to lift sanctions on various online services, which will allow them to combat the government's suppression of Internet activity. The Iranian...

Can Iran’s Accelerating Nuclear Program Be Stopped?

Leonard S. Spector March 10, 2010
Iran appears to have stepped up its efforts to produce a nuclear weapon amid new information about its level of technological expertise and its dealings with North Korea, according to nonproliferation expert Leonard S. Spector. Iran has been able to enrich uranium to the 19.75 percent level, a significant step toward producing weapons-grade uranium. That Iran wants to enrich all of its uranium...

Israel Presses China over Iran sanctions

Geoff Dyer March 4, 2010
Israeli officials are in Beijing for talks with Chinese leaders about Iran. It’s just one of many recent indications that China, which has a critical Security Council vote on Iranian sanctions, needs to step carefully in the Middle East. Beijing has largely supported Iran thus far having inked key oil deals, but also sharing similar attitudes towards what it considers international interference....

Iran to Suspend Google’s Email

Christopher Rhoads, Chip Cummins, and Jessica E. Vascellaro February 11, 2010
On the eve of celebrations, and antigovernment protests, to mark the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Iran announced the suspension of Gmail, Google’s email service, along with plans for a new, national email service in its stead. Following last year’s disputed presidential election, activists harnessed social media, both for organizing within the country and broadcasting news outside...

Terrorism’s New Avatars – Part II

Gabriel Weimann January 12, 2010
Amid the clamor surrounding intelligence failures and opening of new fronts in counter-terrorism effort, a new link has come to light – the open space of the Internet. Conventional wisdom holds that the war in Afghanistan weakened Al Qaeda and eroded its operational efficiency. Terrorism expert Gabriel Weimann believes this to be far from the truth. Social networking sites, online chat rooms,...

Terrorism’s New Avatars – Part I

Bruce Riedel January 7, 2010
The foiled bombing of Northwest flight 253 brings to light the global nature of terrorist expansion. Many would have thought it unlikely that ill-governed and little-considered Yemen would be the source of an attack on the United States. But as regional expert Bruce Riedel relates, Yemen has long been a chaotic country governed weakly or by outsiders – a perfect breeding ground for terrorist...