MER Article The US Media, Samuel Huntington and September 11 Paradigms do not have to be true to become accepted wisdom. Samuel Huntington’s “clash of civilizations” is a case in point. When in 1993 Huntington first presented his notion that future international politics would be based on cultural conflicts -- especially between Islam and the West -- most commentators Ervand Abrahamian • 7 min read
MER Article The Analogy to Apartheid It was not a novel comparison, but it caused quite a stir. In June 2001, Ronnie Kasrils and Max Ozinsky, two Jewish heroes of South Africa's struggle for liberation from state-driven racism, published a letter in the Pretoria newspaper comparing Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands to Ian Urbina • 14 min read
MER Article For Zion's Sake "The best friends that Israel has are the Bible-believing Christians,” claims Ed McAteer of the Christian “right” think tank the Religious Roundtable. [1] While the New York Times and much of the secular press have characterized the alliance of the Christian “right” with such pro-Israel lobby organizations as AIPAC Don Wagner • 19 min read
Current Analysis The "Do More" Chorus in Washington Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in Israel April 11 calling on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to immediately withdraw Israeli troops from the West Bank. As of April 15, Sharon remains defiant, insisting that his troops must stay until full victory has been achieved. In Washington, Press Secretar Charles D. Smith • 11 min read
Current Analysis Aid Drops in Afghanistan In the wake of the military offensive against Afghanistan that began October 7, the United States is settling in for what appears to be a long-term campaign. As the Bush administration selects its next military targets, some five million people inside Afghanistan who depend on international food aid for survival Jeff Drumtra, Margaret Emery, Hiram Ruiz • 6 min read
Current Analysis Investigating the Cole Bombing The investigation of last October's bombing of the USS Cole in Aden continues to irritate US-Yemeni relations. Last week, the agreement worked out between the Clinton White House and Yemeni authorities in November 2000, in which the FBI was allowed to submit questions to Yemeni investigators and observe Charles Schmitz • 5 min read
Current Analysis Frosty Reception for US Religious Freedom Commission in Egypt What if you had a party and no one came? On March 22, members of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)—visiting Cairo on a fact-finding tour—waited in vain for members of Egyptian political parties and civil society groups to arrive at the commission's Vickie Langohr • 7 min read
Current Analysis Violence and its Rhetoric One week after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's warm welcome to Washington, there can be little doubt of US support for continuing Israeli aggression in the Palestinian territories. On March 28, in response to a suicide attack just inside the Israeli border, Israeli helicopter gunships bombed the Palestinian Authority Rebecca L. Stein • 6 min read
Current Analysis No-Fly Zones In the long years of confrontation between the US and Iraq, an almost symbiotic relationship has developed between US and Iraqi efforts to raise the political and military stakes. The latest clashes in the no-fly zones, culminating in the February 16 US-UK attack on Iraqi command and control sites north Sarah J Graham-Brown • 7 min read
Current Analysis Negotiating Over the Clinton Plan The flurry of diplomatic activity designed to achieve an Israeli-Palestinian treaty prior to US President Bill Clinton's January 20 departure from the White House appears to be bearing fruit. January 3 the White House announced that Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat had accepted "with reservations" the Mouin Rabbani • 6 min read
Current Analysis Running for Cover: The US, World Oil Markets and Iraq Last week's panic within the Clinton Administration over a potential winter spike in heating oil prices has greatly eased, as oil prices have begun to fall. The Democrats' political planners feared that Republican candidate George W. Bush and voters would blame Clinton and Vice President Al Gore for Chris Toensing • 4 min read
MER Article Rogues' Gallery The right-wing American Enterprise Institute (AEI) -- home to Newt Gingrich, Charles Murray and Dinesh D’Souza -- would certainly prefer a Republican presidential candidate who could be distinguished on foreign policy from his Democratic counterpart. But roundtable discussions hosted by the Institu Ian Urbina • 10 min read
