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America’s self-image, with its yearning for some imagined lost innocence, is based on myth. Far from the modest republic that history books often portray, the early United States was an expansionist power from the moment the first pilgrim set foot on the continent; and it did not stop expanding--territorially, commercially, culturally, and geopolitically--over the next four centuries.
If you believe that the war in Iraq has been an unmitigated disaster, then you are likely disturbed by McCain's early and continuing support for it. At the same time, he has shown an admirable willingness to reevalute his views when events have proved them wrong. The question, then, comes down to this: Is John McCain capable of changing his mind about a subject very close to his heart--again?
An open letter to President Bush signed by 103 Arab and Muslim intellectuals and activists called on America to reaffirm its commitment to sustained democratic reform in the Arab world. Freedom and democracy are the only ways to build a world where violence is replaced by peaceful public debate and political participation, and despair is replaced by hope, tolerance and dignity.
Leaders in Washington and, indeed, Moscow, Paris, Beijing, Tel Aviv, Islamabad, Pyongyang and perhaps other capitals see their nuclear arsenals more as valued assets than as problems to be eliminated. With the exception of George Bush and Tony Blair in their campaign to disarm and liberate Iraq, leaders of nuclear powers have for years lacked strength, vision and boldness.
North Korea recently tested a nuclear weapon. The United States must now take the lead in intense diplomacy to prevent a chain reaction in the nuclear arena.
Can China sustain its hybrid system, combining authoritarian governance and capitalist economics, or will it eventually have to democratize to continue its impressive economic growth?
Despite the popular narrative, US-Russian relations are generally good. They have undergone and are undergoing dramatic changes, but the relationship is maturing from an overly romantic partnership to a more pragmatic one. Most people speak of this change to a more “selective partnership” as a tragedy, but in reality, it is a natural evolution.
Taliban insurgents and their Al Qaeda allies, once thought defeated in Afghanistan, are regaining strength. Frederic Grare examines the evolution of the situation in Afghanistan and takes a look at Afghanistan through Pakistan's eyes. In addition, Grare provides policy recommendations for regional relations in a post-U.S. Afghanistan.
The recent National Intelligence Estimate, selectively leaked to the press, claims that the Iraq war has increased the threat of terrorism. But this judgment seems impressionistic and imprecise. The question of what actions make us safer cannot be answered simply by counting the number of new terrorist recruits those actions may inspire, even if we could make such a count with any confidence.
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