Washingtonpost.com

Watching Mexico live through a controversial presidential election was like holding up a mirror to our own election difficulties in recent years. As we round the corner and head toward the upcoming November elections -- with control of the Congress up for grabs -- what can Americans expect? Will our votes count? There is both cause for worry, as well as signs that effective voting reform advocacy is paying off.

The root cause of our troubled elections is that, unbelievably, the… more

Some American commentators bend over backwards to portray Arab societies as backwards or feeble. Conservatives argue that it was necessary to invade Iraq because repressive regimes and Islamic fundamentalists in the Middle East "only understand the language of force." Even liberals who oppose military interventions point to the Arab Human Development Report, which highlights the humiliating gaps between the West and the Arab world in terms of the number of publications translated, internet penetration, Nobel Prize winners, and other hallmarks… more

The Bush administration's strategy regarding Iran's nuclear program is going nowhere. The U.S. demand that Iran permanently terminate even a limited capacity to enrich uranium has been categorically rejected by every Iranian political figure and group, including all the leading reformists. Given the views on the subject held by both the establishment and the mass of the population, it would be political suicide for them to do otherwise.

Because of the radical difference between the way in which the U.S.… more