MER Article From the Editor (Winter 2006) “Two words,” said a Virginia man asked by the Washington Post to explain his vote for the Democrat in the 2006 Senate race. “‘Neuter Bush.’” On the morrow of the November 7 Congressional elections, there was a palpable sense of a mission accomplished in the blue-tinted precincts of the United The Editors • 3 min read
Current Analysis Israeli Siege is Undermining Peace Since Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s recent Middle East tour concluded without concrete results, and unity talks between Fatah and Hamas remain at a standstill, the possibility of an Israeli-Palestinian political compromise appears bleaker than ever. But Palestinian lives and livelihoods shou Lori Allen • 2 min read
Current Analysis Grinding Palestine To Powder Secretary Rice’s recent Middle East tour concluded without any discussion of peace between Israel and Palestine. Unity talks between Fatah and Hamas have hit a standstill. In other words, the possibility of an Israeli-Palestinian political compromise appears bleaker than ever. Meanwhile, US and Euro Lori Allen • 4 min read
MER Article From the Editor (Fall 2006) First drafts of history make strange bedfellows. Sayyid Hasan Nasrallah, secretary-general of Hizballah, claimed a “strategic, historic victory” when UN Security Council Resolution 1701 ushered in a very belated “cessation of hostilities” in Lebanon and Israel on August 14. Indeed, grumbled the Israeli right and its backers in Washington, Israel The Editors • 5 min read
Current Analysis Letting Gaza Burn The captivity of Israeli solider Gilad Shalit is over two weeks old, with no sign of a breakthrough, and a second front with Hizbullah now threatens to divert world attention from the conflagration in Gaza. Following Israel’s grievously disproportionate military rejoinder to Shalit’s capture, over Chris Toensing • 3 min read
Current Analysis Court Wrongly OKs Profiling Should the police be able to arrest you based on your religion and then imprison you indefinitely while they search for a crime to charge you with? Of course not. The very idea flies in the face of American jurisprudence, whose traditions guarantee due process, equal protection and the presumption Moustafa Bayoumi • 3 min read
Current Analysis The Power of The Guantánamo Bar Association If you doubt that we are still “a nation of laws,” you haven’t visited the American Civil Liberties Union web site to peruse the thousands of pages of government documents concerning the “war on terror” made available through Freedom of Information Act litigation. While Bush administration policy ma Lisa Hajjar • 4 min read
Current Analysis National Unity in Iraq — As One Government or Three? As Iraq continues to slide into civil war, there is certainly a crying need for fresh thinking. Though he finally admits sending a few “wrong signals” with his Iraq policy, President Bush still calls for staying the course. Not every alternative suggestion, however, is a good one. The latest bad id Sinan Antoon • 3 min read
Current Analysis Let Cooler Heads Prevail on Iran Once again, President George W. Bush is hinting at preventive war—this time, ostensibly, to stop the Islamic Republic of Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Given the catastrophe that followed Bush’s last “non-proliferation war” in Iraq, and the deceit employed to sell it, one would expect the pub Shiva Balaghi, Chris Toensing • 3 min read
MER Article Afghan Wonderland The international occupation of Afghanistan is in bad shape. US casualties are up -- at times the ratio of killed and wounded to troops deployed is equal to that in Iraq, though of course the total numbers are not. Taliban attacks are intensifying, and now include frequent suicide bombings. Kidnappi Christian Parenti • 11 min read
MER Article From the Editors (Summer 2006) Call it “unconventional,” “muted” or “low-grade,” but civil war in Iraq has begun. A Los Angeles Times investigation published on May 7 documented at least 3,800 violent deaths, many of them execution-style murders, in Baghdad alone during the first three months of 2006. The reason for each and every The Editors • 2 min read
Current Analysis We Need Negotiations, Not Saber-Rattling, With Iran “All options are on the table,” says President George W. Bush when asked about press reports that the Pentagon is drawing up plans to bomb Iran to derail the nuclear research program there. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shoots back: "The Iranian nation will respond to any blow with do Kaveh Ehsani • 2 min read
