A new report by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, "Rewriting the Narrative: An Integrated Strategy for Counterradicalization" is making the rounds, with recommendations by the latest blue ribbon panel on future policy orientations for the US as it confronts "the ideology of radical extremism."|Full Story
The United States, the United Kingdom and others made Iraq the story of 2002-03. It is now up to the Iraqi people themselves to define the big story of 2004. More specifically, the interim Iraqi Governing Council (GC) that was appointed by the US-dominated Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) should start the new year by asserting its determination to genuinely represent the sovereign interest and rights of Iraqis, and to reclaim ownership of Iraq from the CPA. The men and women who form the Governing Council and broadly represent the Iraqi citizenry should decisively emerge from the shadow of the US and the CPA. |Full Story
Iran suffered a terrible calamity on Friday when an earthquake shattered the ancient city of Bam, killing thousands of people as they slept. Tehran did not hesitate to seek international assistance to cope with the disaster, and the initial response was encouraging. The governments of Belgium, Germany, Greece and Russia were among the first to respond, promising to send a variety of specialized equipment and personnel, as well as dogs trained to locate survivors under mountains of unstable rubble. Many people who live through the collapse of a building during an earthquake die of exposure before they are rescued, so the marshaling of extra resources from abroad is vital. Coordination of search efforts is also crucial, and the United Nations has dispatched a team of experts to help on that front. |Full Story
There is precious little cheer in the air as the land where Christ was born prepares to mark Christmas. The Middle East is caught in the grip of current wars and the fear of those to come. Entire peoples remain oppressed, repressed and/or dispossessed, either at the hands of their own governments or at those of someone else’s. This part of the world has seen more than its share of misery over the past half-century, but the last few years have been especially difficult. Palestine and Israel continue to wage a heartbreaking struggle, Iraq has been occupied by a foreign power, and terrorist bombings have claimed dozens of innocent lives from Casablanca to Riyadh. Even where there is no bloodshed, there is deep trepidation over what might happen in the new year. |Full Story
A heartwarming story emerged from Israel this week after a brother and sister separated by the Holocaust were reunited. Binyamin Shilon and Shoshana November had last seen one another before the outbreak of World War II, during which he joined the Red Army to fight Hitler and she was sucked into the chain of concentration camps established by Der Fuehrer. He assumed that she, like something in the order of 6 million other European Jews, had perished as part of the Nazis’ “Final Solution.” Now, having been living just 90 minutes apart, the siblings have been brought together at last, and the Israeli media is justifiably entranced. |Full Story
The harsh treatment accorded Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher in Jerusalem on Monday should be interpreted as a warning. The people who assaulted Maher and his entourage may have been extremists, and their behavior was entirely inappropriate, but the anger they expressed is one that permeates Palestinian society. At all levels and in every town, village and refugee camp of the Occupied Territories, Palestinians are increasingly resentful of their fellow Arabs: They feel abandoned in their hour of need, a perception that carries no small amount of truth. |Full Story
Libya’s decision to stop developing weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) is the best sort of good news, as is the consensus in Western capitals that Tripoli should reap some kind of reward for the move. The terrible menace posed by nuclear, biological and/or chemical warfare has been reduced, and the likelihood that other countries might follow Libya’s lead has been increased. As has been his habit for more than three decades at the head of the Libyan government, Colonel Moammar Gadhafi has managed once again to surprise the world. The only difference is that on this occasion, his behavior is drawing commendation rather than condemnation. |Full Story
