Current Analysis
Images and Realities of Mauritania's Attempted Coup
Without the aid of its foreign friends, the regime of President Maaouiya Ould Taya in Mauritania would have ended on June 8, 2003. The attempted coup on that day left 15 reported dead and 68 injured. Taya, well-regarded in the West but perceived as a brutal dictator by most Mauritanians,Imperial Musings in Washington
On a sweltering Washington sidewalk on July 17, a handful of protesters berated the stream of bespectacled wonks entering the “stink tank” known as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) — famous worldwide as the home of former Pentagon official Richard Perle and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.The Peace Movement Plans for the Future
As the Bush administration struggles with occupying Iraq, the anti-war movement is in the midst of intense self-evaluation. For all of the movement’s success in raising doubts about and opposition to the March 2003 invasion, as of July George W. Bush’s war is still popular among Americans. The war c“Our Letter to Khatami Was a Farewell”
Saeed Razavi-Faqih is a student at Tarbiat-Modarres University in Tehran and a member of the steering committee of the main national student organization, the Office for the Consolidation of Unity (OCU). Razavi-Faqih has played a key role in the leadership of Iranian student protests in December 2002 and previously. KavehJordan's Troubling Detour
When Washington cites examples of the potential for reform and democracy in the Arab world, Jordan is one of the first countries mentioned. For the first time since 1997, Jordanians went to the polls last month to vote for parliament, and by most accounts the elections went smoothly. Voter turnout tThe Newest Jordan: Free Trade, Peace and an Ace in the Hole
In the 1950s, Jordan was to kick-start its own modernization through phosphates and potash. In the 1970s, it was to be "the new Beirut"—the banking and financial center of the Arab world. In the 1980s, it was to be "the Hong Kong of the Levant."The Road from Aqaba
On June 4, 2003, a high-profile summit at the Jordanian Red Sea resort of Aqaba brought together Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas, under the auspices of George W. Bush, for the formal launch of the latest Middle East peace initiative. Within days of summit&Sharon's Road Map
Following President Bush’s meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Aqaba, Jordan, the Middle East peace process is once again officially underway. To maximize the diplomatic momentum developed thus far, rhetoric must translate into concrete improvements on the ground and all sides will needOccupational Hazards
Reluctantly, some American officials recently began to use a new word when talking about our presence in Iraq: occupation. Even though the Bush administration worked hard to keep this word out of our national vocabulary before and during the war, it has nonetheless started to appear in press briefinBush Misled Public About Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction
At long last, many are realizing that President Bush misled the public about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. But unlike the vigorous questioning of Prime Minister Tony Blair in Britain on the same issue, our long overdue debate about Saddam Hussein’s presumed illicit arsenal is missing the point.How Yemen's Ruling Party Secured an Electoral Landslide
Yemen's parliamentary elections, held on April 27, 2003, might have set a higher standard for contested elections in the Arab world. Instead, post-election shenanigans and gunfire that disrupted ballot counting in key districts cast doubt on the voting process and the ruling General People's Congres
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