News Abroad

Killing Civilians Is a Depressing Trend

by David Ekbladh

In the words of Rudy Giuliani, the coordinated attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11 was perhaps"the most jarring event in American history." Like the mayor of New York City, many have already loaded this stunning event with historical significance. It is taken as a point of departure in a variety of ways. The United States is said to be embroiled in"the first war of the 21st Century." Those suspected are said to be waging an unprecedented campaign of ter

Who is Osama bin Laden?

by Norman Markowitz

Although it remains unclear in these early hours who was responsible for the suicide attacks that have destroyed the world trade center and left many thousands dead, the growing evidence against Osama bin Laden should be supplemented by an understanding of bin Laden's past, particularly his important involvement with the Central Intelligence Agency in the war against the Peoples Democratic Party government of Afghanistan and its Soviet military

Israel's Woody Allen Jewish Problem

by Ira Chernus

Although Israeli leaders insist they want a secure peace with all their neighbors, their frustrated desire for security is now blocking the path to peace. As the latest round in the Israeli-Palestinian battle nears its one-year anniversary, the violence mounts with no end in sight. Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has yet to offer a clear vision of how it might end. Perhaps he is in no rush to sketch a final peace settlement because security, not peace, is Israel's paramount goal.

Has George W. Ever Heard of the Boxer Rebellion? (Let’s Hope So)

by Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom

When George W. Bush's advisers brief him for his October trip to Beijing, they may be tempted to only discuss recent conflicts. They should resist this temptation. Recent events certainly deserve attention. The collision last April between a Chinese jet and an American aircraft triggered a spy-plane crisis. And the Japanese Prime Minister's plan to visit a shrine honoring soldiers who died for his country during World War II has inflamed tension between China and Japan.

Should We Be Worried About War?

by Michael Creswell

As the United States confronts the New World of the 21st century, the nation must rethink how it can best defend and advance vital U.S. Interests. No longer concerned about a clash of arms with the old Soviet Union, America today faces new challenges to its security. To this end, the Bush administration is now deciding America's future international security strategy and the size and structure of the nation's military. The administration has already abandoned a strategy that called on Am

Giving the Atlantic Charter a Face-Lift on Its 60th Anniversary

by Itai Sneh

This month marks the 60th anniversary of a watershed in U.S. history: the August 1941 Atlantic Charter. The alliance between Britain and the United States recognized in the Charter helped to win World War II and, later, to defeat communism. But that unique alliance is in trouble now because of fundamental differences between the two Atlantic powers on strategic and environmental issues. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter at

Explaining the Bush Administration’s Stumble in Australia

by Joseph M. Siracusa

The Bush administration has irritated many allies with its aversion to treaties, especially the Kyoto Protocol on global warming and the 1972 Antiballistic Missile Treaty. Mr. [Richard] Armitage, however, raised hackles as he singled out a treaty that the administration is partial to: the Australian-New Zealand United States Treaty, or Anzus, a mutual defense pact signed at the start of the cold war.... Blending what Australians interpreted as conde

Are We Sliding Toward War?

by Nicholas Gvosdev

These headlines could be plucked from any newspaper today: "Multinational peacekeeping force planned for Macedonia." "International tribunal to meet at The Hague." "Crisis in Bosnia." "Refugees flee violence in the Near East." "Leaders gather at summit to discuss international security."But nearly identical headlines greeted readers a hundred years ago. Then, the world was beginning to slide from crisis to crisis (in China, Morocco and Bosnia) until the most devastating

Postcolonial Wars of the Post-Soviet Era: Why Huntington is Wrong

by Juan R. I. Cole

The world in 2002 is plunged into war or preparation for it in a number of significant hotspots. During the past decade, we have entered the age of postcolonial wars that are aggravated by the collapse of the Soviet empire.Harvard political scientist Samuel Huntington has called this the"Age of Muslim Wars." But most of these struggles have not had an Islamic character at all. Christian Serb nationalists, after all, launched the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo. The Gulf wars were st

Jews Belong in Palestine (How Israelis See Things)

by Mitchell Bard

A common misperception is that the Jews were forced into the diaspora by the Romans after the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the year 70 A.D. and then, 1,800 years later, suddenly returned to Palestine demanding their country back. In reality, the Jewish people have maintained ties to their historic homeland for more than 3,700 years, including a national language and a distinct civilization. The Jewish people base their claim to the land of Israel on at least four premis

7 Months Later and We're Falling Back into Apathy

by Daniel Pipes

Are Americans taking the necessary steps to protect themselves from further attacks? This question comes to mind on reading a news agency dispatch titled,"Iran Enthusiastically Celebrates the American 'Humiliation' at Tabas 22 Years Ago." It refers to Tabas, a remote desert town in Iran, which on April 25, 1980, was the site of a U.S. military disaster. A rescue team sent by President Jimmy Carter to spring 49 American hostages held in the U.S. embassy in Tehran had to

Israeli and Palestinian Fantasies

by Robert Toplin

As any viewer of television news knows, those who comment on the Arab-Israeli crisis offer many different explanations for the current outbreaks of violence. Rarely mentioned, though, are the unrealistic expectations that keep hostilities going. Both Palestinians and Israelis cling to fantasies about settling their peoples in the territory of their adversaries. As long as each group continues to indulge in these fantasies, significant compromise will be difficult to achieve. The principal

At the UN It’s Ok to Be Anti-Semitic

by Ruth Wisse

Jeanne Kirkpatrick once remarked that while she was a professor of political science there were two mysteries she could not understand: how the Holocaust could have happened, and how the rest of the world could have let it happen. Things became clear once she took her post as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in 1981. The anti-Semitism of many member nations, and the reluctance of others to compromise their"neutrality" while pursuing their own political ends, were almost as much on view duri

Should We Really Be Allowing Sharon to Set American Policy?

by W. Scott Thompson

Just over twenty years ago, as a representative of our government at a United Nations conference, I was invited to a 'briefing' by a very senior U.S. official on the recently concluded Israeli military operations in Lebanon. 'It is a stunning success,' this well-known man told us, according to my notes of the day. 'Far beyond our wildest dreams…the army has hacked its way through cell after cell of terror. It has cleaned out honeycombs of barbarous enemy…Ariel Sharon is one of the greatest

So the Palestinians Want a State?

by Bruce Thornton

Being a liberal is like going to the theater--both require a willing suspension of disbelief. Every day you have to ignore the brutal facts of history and human nature, and reconstruct the world to match the fantasies of perfecting human life once the right-minded people--i.e. liberals--are given enough power to correct the oppressive institutions and practices that have distorted a naturally good human nature. The current crisis in Israel illustrates this process beautifully. Many liber