MER Article From the Editors (Spring 2003) Yes, Thomas Friedman admitted in early March of 2003, the costs of George W. Bush's increasingly unilateral Iraq adventure are beginning to mount. Friedman, along with ex-National Security Council man Kenneth Pollack, has been a reassuring voice of reason coaxing fellow Establishment liberals into what another New York The Editors • 8 min read
Current Analysis The Palestinian Elections That Never Were January 20, 2003—the scheduled date of elections that existed on Palestinian Authority letterhead alone—passed with the incumbent presidential candidate nearly imprisoned in his offices in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Several weeks earlier, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat candidly told reporters Charmaine Seitz • 11 min read
Current Analysis Sanctions No Longer Serve US Interests The Bush administration renewed US sanctions against Libya earlier this month. The announcement, although expected, frustrated US oil companies, which had hoped to gain access to some of the world’s largest reserves of light crude oil. The rollover of sanctions comes despite the efforts of Libya’s e Ian Urbina • 4 min read
MER Article Using and Abusing the UN, Redux On September 12, 2002, George W. Bush delivered a forceful address to the United Nations General Assembly to rally support for an American campaign against Iraq. Challenging the UN to enforce its own resolutions, Bush warned the assembled delegates that failure to back the US war against Iraq would Marc Lynch • 19 min read
MER Article From the Editors (Winter 2002) If there is to be a US-led conquest of Iraq, the American public and the world are entitled to know why. Unable to demonstrate that Iraq's putative weapons of mass destruction pose a "mortal threat" to the United States or to provide evidence implicating Iraq in The Editors • 9 min read
Current Analysis Occupied Maan An expanded campaign to silence outspoken critics of the Jordanian government has followed the October 20 assassination of USAID official Lawrence Foley in Amman. On the pretext of unsubstantiated speculation that Foley's killing was orchestrated by a group of Islamist militants, the regime has arrested foreign and local Jillian Schwedler • 9 min read
Current Analysis The Fight for Iran's Democratic Ideals Over the weekend thousands of Iranian students continued their protests to demand political reform. Their voices were raised in support of Hashem Aghajari, the college professor who has been sentenced to death for blasphemy. But the student movement is broader than dissent over one injustice. Saeed Razavi-Faqih, Ian Urbina • 2 min read
Current Analysis Poetic Injustice In its war against terrorism, the United States has trumpeted its intentions to spread democracy in a region where there is little. Many around the globe remain skeptical about whether toppling leaders is an effective method for cultivating a respect for the rule of law and a liberalization of the p Ian Urbina • 3 min read
Current Analysis Letter from France Despite intense pressure from Washington, several weeks into negotiations at the Security Council of the United Nations, France is holding to its position on how to resolve the current crisis in international policy toward Iraq. As stated by the minister of foreign affairs before the National Assembly, France prefers a Jean-Paul Chagnollaud • 6 min read
MER Article American Justice, Ashcroft-Style The Bush administration's large-scale detentions of Arab and Muslim men -- without charge -- and draconian immigration restrictions are only two of its initiatives to erode civil liberties, civil rights and norms of procedural justice under cover of the "war on terrorism." Many initiatives were enab Keith Feldman • 6 min read
MER Article Arabs, Race and the Post-September 11 National Security State In the face of a post-September 11 wave of racially motivated attacks against people from the Middle East and South Asia, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division announced in a September 13, 2001 press release that "any threats of violence or discrimination against Arab or Muslim Americans or Salah Hassan • 14 min read
MER Article Washington Makes Its Case for War After months of internal debate within the Bush administration -- and in the media -- over how the United States intends to remove Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq, the focus of deliberations has shifted. As military action appears more imminent, serious questions are suddenly being raised about the Raad Alkadiri, Fareed Mohamedi • 10 min read
