Some in India see the U.S. attack on the Bin Laden compound as a chance to address their inferiority complex about their country being “soft.”
India “Soft”? Not After It Launches Its Own Kill-bin-Laden Attacks on Pakistan
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War & Peace
A New Perimeter to Expand NAFTA?
The continentalists are out of the cupboard: The United States and Canada are taking another crack at North American integration, this time without Mexico. Civil servants are dusting off their policy playbooks, business lobbyists are flexing their muscles, and politicians are sexing up their communications strategies. Their opponents, activists fighting for a new economic model, are preparing a counteroffensive that we hope will succeed — again.
Egypt’s Evolving Foreign Policy
The new Egypt is looking to normalize relations with countries like Iran, re-evaluate ties with Israel, and tilt more toward the Palestinian cause. Given its profound cultural capital, powerful military, huge population, and strong economic fundamentals, Egypt could not only regain its regional influence but also play a more assertive and prominent international role. More importantly, the emergence of a democratic system in Egypt could transform the country into a model for the Arab world.
“Blasted and Blasted and Blasted”: The Military Traumatic Brain Injury Epidemic
The United States is not facing up to the massive health-care and mental-health problems caused by traumatic brain injuries in our recent wars.
Review: The Postman
Van Gogh. Robots. Buddhism and the Bible. In Mun Dok-su’s long poem, The Postman, these elements, and a variety more, weave together to form a searching narrative that addresses some of the largest questions of humanity. What is at the root of war, terror, and destruction? How does one hold on to one’s humanity in the face of modern warfare and technology? As a postman delivers news to the door, Mun Dok-su delivers answers to his reader. At 82 years old, the poet has given the world his landmark work—an epic poem that exudes fire and fearlessness.
Normal
walk long enough
with a pebble in your shoe
and walking with a pebble becomes
normal
Even Their Beloved Nukes Don’t Escape Republican Infatuation With Cost-Cutting
Between House and Senate Republicans, and those gung-ho for defense and those for cost-cutting, Republicans are diverging on nuclear weapons.
Other Mothers
Their sons who speak of a cause
As if it were their two feet
beneath them. That they could hold an idea
and a weapon at the same time.
Gen. Kayani’s Tenure as Most Powerful Man in Pakistan Coming to Premature End?
In order to keep his job, Pakistani army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani may read the riot act to the United States about its drone program.
Has the Rendition Program Disappeared?
The day after Barack Obama took office, he signed a series of executive orders mandating the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as well as the global network of secret, CIA-run “black site” prisons. In addition, he committed the United States to observe the Geneva Conventions and the Convention Against Torture. More than two years later, the Obama administration has not followed through on most of these promises, even reversing several commitments.