Regional Policy

In past weeks Al Qaeda has relaunched itself, a rebranding that presages a second phase in its war against the West. The clearest evidence for this shift is in three audiotapes that Al Qaeda has released since the beginning of October from its top leaders, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri.

Most analysts both inside and outside the government believe those tapes to be authentic. On them, the two Qaeda leaders call for a wider war against not only… more

Does the United States want to bring democracy to Iraq? Maybe, but maybe not bring it right away.

An early indicator that America is in no hurry to democratize Baghdad was found in a report in the Sept. 30 edition of the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz. Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) was quoted as telling a visiting Israeli, "Don't worry, you won't have any problem with Saddam." Lantos reportedly added, "In his place we'll install a pro-Western dictator, who will be good for… more

One of America's most important voices on the American relationship with Europe is Jeffrey Gedmin, former Executive Director of the New Atlantic Initiative and the newly appointed Director of the Aspen Institute Berlin. In a very brief period, Jeff has transformed what was largely an antiquated and partially stale organization crafted primarily for Cold War relationship maintenance to a vibrant, provocative institution asking important questions about the stresses and strains of the evolving international system.

In the months since my essay "The Israel lobby" appeared (Prospect, April 2002), US foreign policy has been aligned with-if not subordinated to-that of Ariel Sharon's Israel to a degree that nobody could have imagined last spring. To the dismay of moderate Israelis and our European allies, President Bush has endorsed Sharon's policies of reoccupation, the repudiation of the Oslo negotiations, the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority, and the diplomatic isolation of Arafat, while announcing unrealistic conditions for Palestinian statehood… more

The headlines in Israeli newspapers speak to the overwhelmingly positive reaction to President George W. Bush's speech Monday calling for "new leadership" for the Palestinians.

Ha'aretz bannered, "Bush calls for end to the Arafat era," while another header read simply, "Sharon's victory." But, while journalism may be the first draft of history, Israelis are learning that subsequent drafts may tell a different story.

Israel has scored a diplomatic triumph. But, if demographics are destiny, the Palestinians could yet gain victory.

Of… more

At the 2002 G-8 summit in Kananaskis, Canada, South Africa's Thabo Mbeki will launch the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad). Part of the plan is to set up a peer review, whereby African governments can be criticized in order to strengthen the continents leadership. New Globalist contributor Nicholas Thompson examines Ghana's African leadership -- past and present.

On March 7, 1957, the day after Ghana became the first Sub-Saharan nation to win its independence, founding president Kwame… more

Since September 11th, the Bush administration has taken many steps, financial, military and policy-wise, with the goal of destroying one of the most organized and well-funded terrorist networks in the world. However, the short- and long- term effectiveness of these drastic measures has yet to be proven. Is Al Quaeda weakened or is it successfully regrouping? Does it still have the capabilities to commit more acts of terror? How has its infrastructure changed? Who is… more

ACCRA, Ghana -- If it's lucky, this is what Africa's future will look like: rows of sharply dressed women pounding furiously at their keyboards and squinting at their computer screens.

That was the scene here at Affiliated Computer Services, a bustling American company in the center of the capital of the West African nation of Ghana, that Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and Irish rock star Bono visited early in their two-week sojourn to Africa that ended Friday. It's not the normal… more

Once again, conflict is raging between Israel and the Palestinians--and once again, the U.S. government can see fault only on one side. Even as Israeli soldiers were demolishing his compound and threatening his life, Palestinian Authority chairman Yasir Arafat was instructed by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to end terrorism against Israel, including that committed by groups Arafat cannot control. What passes in the United States as an evenhanded stance is perceived, not only in the Middle East but… more

Until recently, America's middle east policy was a peripheral part of its global strategy, which focused on preventing the Soviet Union from intimidating US allies in western Europe and east Asia. Britain was the dominant western power in the middle east until the 1960s, and US influence was countered in much of the region by the Soviet Union until the end of the cold war. The indifference of much of the national security elite and the public to the region,… more