Go West, Young Imam
Tuesday September 18, 2007
I wish I'd thought of that Horace Greeley headline with a head-scarf. But no: It appears atop a story in the current issue of Saudi Aramco World, a slick bi-monthly ... Read More
Morocco's Democracy Mirage
Monday September 17, 2007
You wouldn't know it from gleaning pluralism's returns, but it is democracy season in the Middle East. Or, let's just say, election season. Syria, Algeria, Egypt and Morocco all held ... Read More
Syria's Area 51
Friday September 14, 2007
Area 51 in Nevada, lesser known as Groom Lake, is the most secret military installation in the United States. It's surrounded by the Nevada Test Site, where the Pentagon has ... Read More
OPEC Drips Up
Thursday September 13, 2007
OPEC doesn’t have a leader. It’s an organization of 12 independent states connected neither by geography nor culture. Just oil. But in effect, Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil producer, ... Read More
Osama, Dead or Alive?
Tuesday September 11, 2007
No, that's not a quote reprising George W. Bush's gunslinger remark of six years ago. It's been the question on a few billion minds about the world's most-wanted terrorist.
Osama bin ... Read More
Parsing Petraeus
Monday September 10, 2007
Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, goes before Congress today and tomorrow to make the case for President Bush's "surge" and against withdrawal. It promises to ... Read More
Road Map to Nowhere
Sunday September 9, 2007
Remember the "Road Map to Peace" in the Middle East? It was to be the Bush administration's big breakthrough in the peace process. Bush put forth his proposal in ... Read More
Fatah al-Islam's Defeat in Lebanon
Monday September 3, 2007
They’re celebrating in Lebanon — with good reason: The Lebanese army appears to have managed to do what even the United States has yet to manage with its “global war ... Read More