Christian Science Monitor

"There's still a big North-South gap in quantity of trade. Consider that the total foreign sales of auto giant DaimlerChrysler last year were 40 percent bigger than exports from the entire continent of Africa, according to the UN. Foreign sales of Japan's Honda cars were worth more than all of India's exports." [more]

"But oil is just one reason for West Africa's growing demand for guns for hire. The US, for instance, is now more engaged in West Africa. But with troops tied down in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, it's increasingly hiring private security firms to represent it." [more]

"A bold daylight attack on a police station here Saturday has underscored a growing concern: Can Iraq's fledgling security forces maintain order after the planned June 30 US transfer of power to Iraqi authorities?" [more]

Blair and Bush both continue to suffer from the near-total lack of evidence of WMD in Iraq. [more]

"The main reform party announced Monday that it would boycott upcoming parliamentary elections, but stopped short of asking Iranians not to vote ... Nearly one third of the 290 members of parliament resigned on Sunday after the unelected hard-line Guardian Council reinstated 1,160 reform candidates — but upheld rejections of 2,400 others over the weekend." [more]

"Iraq's weapons programs were apparently in shambles, for instance, while Libya's were surprisingly advanced. Pakistan's nuclear scientists might have been rogue agents, proffering secrets for cash. And it appears that North Korea may be the most advanced rogue nuclear nation of all, with an advanced capacity to produce fissile material." [more]

"Eight months after a giant statue of Saddam Hussein was pulled to the ground in Baghdad in a gesture of celebration, the US finally has Mr. Hussein for real. It was probably the most intensive manhunt in history, with thousands of troops, secret units, and intensive pressure from Washington." [more]

"Saddam Hussein's capture may not end attacks by insurgents." [more]

"A growing number of computer scientists are now warning that [electronic voting], far from solving America's voting problems, may actually make things worse. 'If you look at the consequences for democracy, it's terrifying,' says David Dill, a Stanford University computer-science professor." [more]

"The shootout in Karbala was the latest in a string of incidents involving [local cleric] Sadr and his Mahdi Army. Sadr had helped lead the physical expulsion of the US-appointed district council for Sadr City from its building. He and a number of other leaders in the district are seeking to replace the council with representatives they see as more legitimate." [more]

"In the West Bank, the barrier's rapid construction is altering lives, the landscape and, critics say, foreclosing on the possibility of a viable Palestinian state — all factors that will deepen Palestinian anger and motivation to strike at Israel." [more]

"Beyond fatalities, an average of eight American soldiers a day are wounded." [more]

"Thai officials say Hambali is currently in US custody, though the US refused to say where upon announcing his arrest last Thursday. US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage ... said it would be 'foolish' to believe the threat has evaporated with Hambali's arrest." [more]

"For Pakistanis who support the US-led war on terrorism, and for Washington, [jihadist rallies are] a troubling sign that Pakistan remains a breeding ground for extremist groups and for an ideology of cultural war shared by Al Qaeda." [more]

"The return of a multilateral tilt signifies a correction after the Iraq war, according to some analysts. These observers also say it reveals how the US has lost ground in some central goals, and is now playing catch-up. One of those buffeted priorities is the international war on terrorism." [more]

"By all appearances, insurgents have consciously turned against foreign aid workers despite work done during the days of the mujahideen resistance and Taliban rule. Attacks on their local helpers as well suggest that more than xenophobia is at work. Rather, the attacks seem part of a concerted effort to undermine the reconstruction work itself." [more]

" 'Faced with continued resistance, Department of Defense now plans to keep a larger force in Iraq than anticipated for a period of time,' Maj. Gen. Buford Blount, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, explained in a statement to families a month ago. 'I appreciate the turmoil and stress that a continued deployment has caused,' he added." [more]

"[T]here are signs that operations such as this one, code-named 'Spartan Scorpion,' may be creating as many problems as it solves. Here in Fallujah, lately the hub of anti-US resistance, locals say they are seeing far too few signs of promised reconstruction — and far too many of an outright occupation." [more]

"Not only might these tribes bring back an ancient vigilante style of justice — burning the homes of accused criminals, for instance — but tribal militias could become an obstacle for US forces as they search the countryside for Al Qaeda." [more]

"Experts say the move, which began four days ago in a northern Iraqi town, may violate international law." [more]

"If this were a year or two from now, these could be the people fighting Operation Iraqi Freedom. [Some are] afraid of being sent to the Gulf to fight for — as they say — the 'punk' who calls himself their president." [more]

"On the broadest level, the movement didn't offer the most important alternative to war: hope. Newly skeptical patriots have been ... depoliticized rather than mobilized by the failure of the antiwar coalition either to address the moral complexity of the conflict or to offer a coherent alternative to it." [more]

"Attacks against US troops in southern Afghanistan, the former stronghold of the deposed Taliban regime, have spiked in recent weeks, culminating Saturday with the ambush of a US Special Forces unit that left two US soldiers dead and a third injured." [more]

"Activists have been quick to dismiss charges that protests are unpatriotic when troops are at risk. But at the same time, they've been waging a nuanced internal debate, struggling with how to transition from peace to wartime." [more]

"Today the world may have reached a defining geopolitical moment similar to the late 1940s, when the East-West alignment that characterized the cold war emerged from the chaos of World War II." [more]

"Bush never pinned blame for the attacks directly on the Iraqi president. Still, the overall effect was to reinforce an impression that persists among much of the American public: that the Iraqi dictator did play a direct role in the attacks." [more]

"Facing almost certain defeat, the United States and Britain delayed a vote to give Saddam Hussein an ultimatum to disarm and signaled they might compromise to try to win support from [UN] Security Council members who oppose a rush to war." [more]

"For the first time since the Panama invasion in 1989, the US may be fighting a largely urban war. Thus the tactics and technology it uses will be crucial in determining the level of casualties and perhaps the length of the war itself." [more]

"A coalition of Kurdish nongovernmental organizations made their first attempt Saturday to convince the villagers bordering Saddam Hussein's Iraq to respect human rights and avert a blood bath of revenge." [more]

"In important ways, the Gulf War of 2003 has already begun. From armed attacks on opposing forces to covert preparations, both the United States and Iraq are heavily involved in military actions." [more]

"An incident last week shows how close US forces and their allies in Afghanistan come to fighting one another, instead of their enemies. It also points to a lack of coordination between two forces with very different mandates — one keeping the peace, the other catching terrorists." [more]

"A key parliamentary vote to allow foreign troops here was due to take place Tuesday but is now being postponed, much to Washington's chagrin, because Turkish officials say they have not yet received the US assurances they require." [more]

"After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a French newspaper ran the now-famous headline, 'We are all Americans.' Now, with growing resistance worldwide to the idea of a US-led war in Iraq, a new slogan — 'We are all French' — is dotting antiwar protests" [more]

"In the current campaign against a war with Iraq, large rallies are a valuable publicity tool for antiwar groups whose attempts to woo undecided Americans are frequently drowned out by a government that argues that it may be necessary to go to war. Given the disparity of antiwar groups and how some have tried to promote agendas that go beyond Iraq, swaying ordinary Americans on the issue isn't always easy." [more]

"A look at Washington's methods — and degrees of success — in dislodging foreign leaders." [more]

"Most of the new antiwar groups express an entirely personal opposition to war, one based more on moral revulsion than effective political opposition. Protesters voice a personal distaste for violent conflict, rather than organizing a collective stand against it." [more]

"As the United States fights a war on terrorism and prepares for possible war with Iraq, development and advocacy of nonlethal weapons are accelerating." [more]

"The unprecedented seizure Monday of a ship carrying North Korean missiles highlights US preemption doctrine." [more]

"For weeks, France and the United States have danced a diplomatic tango to define a UN resolution that could precipitate - or forestall - a war with Iraq. " [more]

"Many nations may use next week's expected Security Council vote on US resolution to bridle US might. Picture the Lilliputians pulling ropes, tying knots, doing their best to restrain the giant Gulliver. As a historic vote on Iraq nears at the United Nations, some observers describe what is happening as a similarly Swiftian scene. " [more]

"After a month of failing to reach a compromise with veto-wielding France and Russia, the US is now courting Mexico, Ireland, and the other members of the UN Security Council in an effort to win support for a tough Iraq inspection resolution." [more]

"The only way to permanently defuse Al Qaeda's threat to the US may be to make the group's ideology seem less legitimate to recruits — the radically discontented of the Islamic world. " [more]

"The compatibility of Islam and democracy is an ongoing struggle. In Turkey, Pakistan, and Indonesia, secular militaries retain a strong hand in preventing Islamic rule and, ironically, keeping some sort of democracy. Even such semidemocratic nation-states provide a better unity and means than more authoritarian governments in both stopping terrorists and winning over the population." [more]

"Pakistan's masses have sent a clear signal of simmering resentment over the US war on terror which is playing out in their own backyard." [more]

"For months, whenever President Bush spoke of "regime change" in Iraq, the assumption was he meant Saddam Hussein had to go. Now, Mr. Bush is signaling he could accept a world where Mr. Hussein — though a fully disarmed Hussein — remains the man in charge in Iraq." [more]

"Forced deportation of Palestinians from the occupied territories — "transfer," as it is widely described inside Israeli society — is the most horrifying possibility being discussed. It is also the option that, unless vigorously and consistently opposed by Washington, would do the most harm to America's broader interests in the Middle East — and that includes America's ability to bring the campaign against Saddam Hussein to a successful conclusion." [more]

" 'Your ticket has been randomly flagged,' they insist. Call it what you will. But I literally can't remember the last time I made it on to an airplane without being quietly pulled aside and asked to open all my bags." [more]

"Polls signal that a majority of the public still supports the possibility of an invasion of Iraq — but that support drops significantly if the US goes in alone. If casualties reach 5,000, most Americans would oppose the war, [and] that concern gives Democrats an opening to back force, yet distance themselves from the president by insisting on the need to build coalitions." [more]

"As the US gears up to expand Washington's 'war on terror' to Iraq, a series of fresh attacks against US forces — even in nations where the majority support the US presence — underscores the risk to growing US military deployments." [more]

"Indeed, in this era of low voter turnout and the Supreme Court arbitrating the 2000 election, there's less '60s-style, make-love-not-war idealism, observers say. Many students 'feel a great deal of alienation from the political process,' says Jeffrey Murer, a political scientist at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania." [more]

"Is he tough enough to make Iraq comply with arms inspections?" [more]

"Bush is probably not acting out of pure self-defense in threatening Iraq. Rather he may honestly believe in a new kind of liberal internationalism that would build on what Woodrow Wilson proposed after World War I. If so, he'll have to find the right kind of moral allies that he now seems unable to find at the UN." [more]

"Behind the increasingly vocal worldwide warnings about an invasion of Iraq lies not so much a resurgent peace movement as a fear America will try to depose Saddam Hussein alone. If Washington waits for United Nations approval for an attack, opinion polls in many countries show that American troops would actually enjoy considerable international public support." [more]

"Iran is a key player in US efforts to bring peace to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And its 66 million people appear far more interested in stability and growth than exporting revolution and terrorism. Iran also needs more democracy to possibly ensure it doesn't develop nuclear weapons." [more]

"The Hamdi case asserts a novel separation of powers between the executive branch and the judiciary that is almost unprecedented. During the Civil War, the Supreme Court prohibited military detention of noncombatant Americans without appeal as long as the courts were functioning." [more]

"Sitting in the broiling sun, US Army Col. Bruce Jette, the head of the robotics team, is both triumphant and apologetic: 'Today is the first time conventional forces have ever employed robots in a wartime environment.' " [more]

"While facilitating the transfer of detainees to Middle Eastern countries that use torture, the US tried unsuccessfully to block a vote in the United Nations this week on the UN Convention Against Torture, which it has signed and ratified." [more]

"Polls show Americans are wary of a war, which may force Bush to do more selling." [more]

"Syria's support for the Lebanese Hizbullah organization has brought hostile scrutiny from the US. In his Mideast policy speech delivered Monday, President Bush demanded that Syria 'must choose the right side in the war on terror by closing terrorist camps and expelling terrorist organizations.' In this climate, neutralizing US and Israeli allies in the region is a priority for Damascus. And that includes Turkey, which agreed in 1997 to a military alliance with Israel, Syria's archenemy." [more]

"Karzai is expected to be reconfirmed as Afghan leader at today's national council, where US power has raised ire." [more]

"After 23 years of war, key Afghan players gather to choose a government. With the world's eyes on Afghanistan, many warlords have found it difficult to control their fiefdoms when a central government is supposed to lead the way to peace." [more]

"The United States and its allies in the war on terrorism must defuse the widespread image of Al Qaeda as a ubiquitous, super-organized terror network and call it as it is: a loose collection of groups and individuals that doesn't even refer to itself as 'Al Qaeda.' Most of the affiliated groups have distinct goals within their own countries or regions, and pose little direct threat to the United States. Washington must also be careful not to imply that any attack anywhere is by definition, or likely, the work of Al Qaeda." [more]

"Eight months after Sept. 11, it is becoming increasingly apparent that various arms of the US government had pieces of information that, if put together, might have provided sketchy advance warning of the terrorist strikes to come." [more]

"The insurgency in Nepal is just one of three deadly conflicts in South Asia which have brewed quietly in the background of the Afghan conflict. But the lack of media attention is no indication of a lack of US involvement. In all three conflicts, which together have claimed tens of thousands of lives over the past two decades, US officials have quietly been applying pressure and support for peace talks, and, in the case of Nepal, a war against Maoist rebels." [more]

"Flooded with more than 60,000 applications since Sept. 11, the Central Intelligence Agency and its Pentagon counterpart are beefing up the ranks of spies ó reversing a decade of cutbacks to hire hundreds of new recruits ó from Arabic speakers to counterterrorism experts." [more]

"Those who had doubts about bin Laden's guilt and even subscribed to anti-American, anti-Christian, and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories about Sept. 11, continue to concoct explanations about the content of the tape or cast doubt on its authenticity." [more]

"The building of a permanent detention facility highlights an emerging US tactic: long-term holding of captives." [more]

"The incident, which ended after an hour of questioning, represents more than just a disturbing day for one museum staffer. Across the US, growing numbers of Americans are facing similar interrogations — apparently, they say, because they have criticized the government, President Bush, or the war on terrorism." [more]

"[I]t turns out that a modern war may require the troops to know enough about alien cultures, at a minimum, to avoid offensive behavior. So as war becomes more complicated, so does preparation for it. Cultural sensitivity needs to be added to the already-crowded basic-training curriculum." [more]