Middle East & North Africa Archives - Foreign Policy In Focus

Iraq’s New Patent Law

by John Gershman, Focus on the Global South, RAIN | Oct 3, 2005

When Former Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) administrator L. Paul Bremer III left Baghdad after the highly publicized “transfer of sovereignty” in June 2004, he left his imprint through 100 orders that he enacted as chief of the occupation authority in Iraq. Among them is Order 81 regarding “Patent, Industrial Design, Undisclosed Information, Integrated Circuits and Plant Variety.”1 This order amends Iraq’s original patent law of 1970, and unless and until it is revised or repealed by a new Iraqi government, it wields the status and force of a binding law.2 With important implications for farmers and the future of agriculture in Iraq, this order is yet another important component in Washington’s attempts to radically transform Iraq’s economy.

An “Affirmative Measure” to Help Prevent the Commission of War Crimes by the Bush Administration

by Jeremy Brecher, John Gershman | Oct 3, 2005

How to Bring the Troops Home and Internationalize the Peace

by Phyllis Bennis, Erik Leaver | Oct 3, 2005

"There is an old military doctrine called the First Rule of Holes: If you find yourself stuck in one, stop digging."

How Much Power Will the New Iraqi Government Really Have?

by John Gershman, Stephen Zunes | Oct 3, 2005

Much attention was paid in the run-up to the January 30 elections in Iraq regarding how the lack of security in much of the country, combined with the decision by major Sunni Arab parties to boycott in protest of recent U.S. attacks on several major urban areas, could thereby skew the results and compromise the resulting government’s credibility. Related concerns include the prospect of this election and the government that emerges exacerbating the divisions between Shiite Arabs, Sunni Arabs, and Kurds.

After Iraq’s Wartime Elections

by John Gershman, Frank Smyth | Oct 3, 2005

Robert Fisk is the award-winning journalist of the London-based Independent newspaper, and he has long been a consistent critic of American imperial policies in the Middle East. “But it was the sight of those thousands of Shi’ites, the women mostly in black hejab covering, the men in leather jackets or long robes, the children toddling beside them, that took the breath away,” he reported from Baghdad on election day. “If Osama bin Laden had called these elections an apostasy, these people, who represent 60% of Iraq, did not heed his threats.”

President Bush’s Foreign Policy Discussion in the 2005 State of the Union Address

by John Gershman, Stephen Zunes | Oct 3, 2005

The foreign policy segments of President George W. Bush’s state of the Union address spoke to values and concerns that resonate with the majority of Americans from across the political spectrum. Unfortunately, much of what was said during his speech was quite misleading.

The Dangerous Implications of the Hariri Assassination and the U.S. Response

by John Gershman, Stephen Zunes | Oct 2, 2005

The broader implications of the February 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was seen by many as the embodiment of the Lebanese peopleÂs efforts to rebuild their country in the aftermath of its 15-year civil war, are yet to unfold. A Sunni Muslim, Hariri reached out to all of LebanonÂs ethnic and religious communities in an effort to unite the country after decades of violence waged by heavily armed militias and foreign invaders.

Explosion of Youth Activism Around the Iraq War

by Emily Schwartz Greco, Adam Waxman | Oct 2, 2005

As goes Greensboro, so goes the nation.

Iraq: Two Years Later

by Erik Leaver, Stephen Zunes | Oct 2, 2005

In a series of articles written between June 2002 and February 2003, I predicted that if the United States invaded Iraq, it was highly unlikely that we would find any of the weapons of mass destruction or WMD programs that the Bush administration and the congressional leadership of both parties claimed Iraq possessed in their effort to justify an American takeover of that oil-rich country. I also predicted that no operational links between the Iraqi regime and al-Qaida would be found and that a U.S. invasion would encourage terrorism rather than discourage it. Finally, I predicted that we could find ourselves virtually isolated in the international community facing a bloody counter-insurgency war with no end in sight.

Outmaneuver the War Proponents

by Erik Leaver, Gareth Porter | Oct 2, 2005

For an anti-war activist of the Vietnam era, the current search for a political strategy for ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq brings to mind the very similar problems facing the movement to end the Vietnam War in 1968-69. In fact, a review of the strategy that the anti-war movement pursued at that juncture of the Vietnam War helps clarify the choices before the present movement and their likely consequences. It should serve as a warning against ignoring the possibility of embracing the negotiation of a compromise peace agreement with those resisting the U.S. occupation as an anti-war strategy.