The recent US Supreme Court ruling that recognizes the rights of Guantanamo detainees to challenge their detention in US civilian courts – possibly paving the way for a permanent closure of the facility – is a serious rebuke to the controversial detention policies of the administration of President George W. Bush. However, it is also …

As if the armed conflict between Afghan government forces supported by the American-led coalition and the Taliban were not enough, Afghanistan is faced with a crisis that it wishes it could call a success: the Big Return. From Jalalabad to Herat – indeed, all over northern Afghanistan – you can see the signs of Afghans …

The latest display of successful political manipulation by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has given his government a temporary reprieve. He will remain prime minister for at least three months and perhaps beyond. And he is likely to continue to pursue the ambitious peacemaking and conflict-mitigation activity that he has displayed on virtually all fronts in …

There is a consensus in US political circles that the issue of Arab democracy is not a priority for US presidential candidates Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama. This is not only attributable to the dominance of domestic issues, primarily economy, health, immigration and climate, over the election campaign of both candidates. The dominance …

It s a very disappointing day for democracy when supporters of religious tolerance are publicly beaten. But that is precisely what happened this month in Jakarta when 200 activists of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) suddenly stormed the Monas Square where supporters of the Alliance for Freedom of Religion and Belief (AKKBB) were holding a …

The late Arthur Koestler, born in Budapest, resident of many countries, and writer in several languages, once said that there is nationalism, and there is football nationalism. The feelings inspired by the latter are by far the stronger. Koestler himself, a proud and loyal British citizen, remained a lifelong Hungarian soccer nationalist. It is hard …

“Is the Obama thing real? Does he really have a chance? Will the American people ever elect a black president? During my recent travels to several Arab countries, I encountered these questions from all sides. For many, the outcome of the Democratic primaries delivered a clear answer: Yes, Barack Obama actually has a shot at …

For many African American Muslims, the fallout from the horrendous crime of September 11, 2001 was not entirely new. The US government s response was a bit of déjà vu for those, like me, who were Civil Rights activists in college during the 1960s and 70s. The only difference is that now we face a …

Ever since the 1928 work of Frank Ramsey, economists have accepted the utilitarian argument that a good economy is one in which returns on investment are not too great a multiple – less than three – of the rate of per capita economic growth. An economy in which profits from investment are high relative to …

Finally, the long-sought truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has become a reality. Reaching this uneasy state has not been easy. For months, wise and responsible people had exhorted Israel to accept the ceasefire that the Hamas leadership in Gaza had proposed. But Israel’s government, using all kinds of pretexts, stubbornly resisted. …

Every year, 3.5 million mothers and children below the age of five die in poor countries because they do not have the nutrition they need to fight common diseases. Three-quarters of them could have survived diarrhea or malaria if they had been properly nourished. For those who do survive, the future looks grim: all studies …

The ceasefire is still in effect, which is something of a surprise. After all, this is a ceasefire few like – especially in Israel. Some of the same government officials who secured it, wasted little time in saying that they did not expect it to last and that, when it did collapse, Israel would launch …

In less than one week three sectarian incidents took place in different Egyptian governorates. One of them is related to the sudden absence of a Christian woman in the governorate of Beheira, who was allegedly abducted by Muslims, but as she confessed later on, she said that she had left home for personal not for …

On June 18, the United Nations’ intergovernmental Human Rights Council took an important step toward eliminating the artificial divide between freedom from fear and freedom from want that has characterized the human rights system since its inception. By giving the green light to the Optional Protocol to the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social, and …

When I was in the US, a friend of mine told me the most popular jokes around the presidential elections that have been preoccupying the American people day an night for a few months now. The latest one goes: Barack Obama knocks on the gates of heaven wanting to g in. Angel Gabriel asks: “Why …

A friend of mine made an interesting analogy the other day. “Advertising is like porn, he commented, ruefully. “It’s filled with people who sell themselves outright, but always harbor dreams of respectability. And like porn, they always swear they’ll never do it again. But they always do. It’s true, ad people constantly talk about doing …

This week, the Prime Minister of Canada made a dramatic statement in Parliament: he apologized to the indigenous peoples of his country for the injustices done to them for generations by successive Canadian governments. This way, White Canada tries to make peace with the native nations, whose country their forefathers conquered and whose culture their …

There is a marvelous painting by Brueghel in the Brussels art gallery. The British poet, W.H. Auden, was sufficiently impressed to write a poem about it. The painting shows Icarus, his wings melted, plunging to a watery grave. No one seems very interested. The world goes on, the peasants continue plowing their fields, getting on …

Morgan Tsvangirai’s withdrawal from the presidential run-off scheduled for June 27, and his decision to seek the protection of the Dutch embassy in Pretoria, has secured for Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe a Pyrrhic victory. Mugabe’s triumph comes at a huge cost to democracy and stability in Zimbabwe, as well as in the region. The actions …

It is often said in the Arab world that the road to Jerusalem goes through Washington, with the implicit assumption that only the Americans can bring the Israelis to the negotiating table. But there is a distinctly different dynamic emerging from the waning days of the Bush years. The road to Washington may in fact …

Five years ago in May, President Bush, standing on the deck of an aircraft carrier, proudly declared mission accomplished in Iraq and stated that major combat operations were over. The event comes as a reminder of the limits of American military might, or hard power . Indeed, the US easily toppled the Iraqi regime in …

Common wisdom says that getting a settlement among high-level negotiators at a bargaining table is the major difficulty in achieving peace. In reality, the biggest problem is often not across the table, but behind it. Peace does not “trickle down from above. It has to be seeded broadly and actively cultivated throughout a society from …

Whatever the outcome of the United States’ presidential election, climate change policy will be transformed. Both candidates have placed great importance on global warming. Republican John McCain believes that it presents “a test of foresight, of political courage, and of the unselfish concern that one generation owes to the next, while Democrat Barack Obama calls …

A while ago I was watching “Rome , a TV series about ancient Rome at the time of Julius Caesar, and was struck by this scene: At a dinner, the newly appointed Senator Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and his wife Niobe (Indira Varma) are telling their daughter that it’s about time she got married. When …

What term can we use to describe the incumbent Egyptian political regime? Is it a democratic or authoritarian regime, or is it hybrid mix of the two? Indeed, for a quarter of a century the current regime has been closer to autocratic regimes where the ruler enjoys a central status, in a way that makes …

Twenty years ago, it was far more trendy and sexy to be developing cross-border projects in Israel. Civil society groups and organizations tended to look past the issues facing majority-minority relations, and it was during this time that I began my work with Peace Child Israel, an organization dedicating its efforts on the home front. …

Sex crime has a telltale signature, even when those directing the outrages are some of the most powerful men and women in the United States. How extraordinary, then, to learn that one of the perpetrators of these crimes, Condoleezza Rice, has just led the debate in a special session of the United Nations Security Council …

Because the current Egyptian government is composed predominantly of technocrats who have no – or little – previous political experience, its members have been frequently charged with political incompetence. A number of political blunders provided the assailants with further fuel for indictment. That President Hosni Mubarak, however, is himself a technocrat has received little attention. …

Senator John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, has been calling for the creation of a “League of Democracies. This new international group would possess a formidable military capacity, based partly on NATO and partly on a “new quadrilateral security partnership in the Pacific between Australia, India, Japan, and the US. Neither Russia nor China, of …

In the next few months, Iraqi leaders may have to make tough historic decisions that will not only affect the future of Iraq for many years to come but may also determine their own political future as well. President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki have already agreed on a statement of principles …