Middle East & North Africa Archives - Foreign Policy In Focus

Lawyers Statement on UN Resolution 1441 on Iraq

by Jules Lobel | Dec 1, 2002

The Bush administration claims that it does not legally need Security Council authorization to attack Iraq if the United States concludes that Iraq breaches its obligations to comply with UN Security Council Resolutions. As Professors of Law and practicing attorneys, we believe that the administration’s legal position is incorrect and poses a grave danger for the future of international law, the United Nations, and a peaceful international order.

Iraq: Has the Prospect of War Faded?

by Paul Rogers | Dec 1, 2002

Diplomatic moves by the United States to gain support for the termination of the Saddam Hussein regime have intensified in the past two weeks. One aspect of this has been the request to NATO for backing for a military campaign; more important has been a series of discussions between the U.S. and its regional allies in the Middle East and the Gulf.

Favored Post-Saddam Leaders Belie Bush’s Democracy Rhetoric

by Conn Hallinan | Nov 26, 2002

With congressional support safely tucked away, it is now just a matter of time before the Bush administration invades Iraq. Since our recent track record of pummeling Third World countries is solid, it should be pretty much a slam-dunk. It’s afterwards that’s the tricky part.

Reasons Not to Attack Iraq

by Stephen Zunes | Nov 24, 2002

1. There Are Still Nonmilitary Options Available

House of Cards

by Michael Dahan | Nov 1, 2002

The recent dissolution of the National Unity Government in Israel should not come as a surprise to anyone closely following the Israeli political scene. The reason the unity government lasted so long was that it was comfortable for all parties involved. By keeping his opposing political party under his government umbrella Prime Minister Sharon was granted a much-needed degree of legitimacy in both internal and external politics. On the other hand, Labor party cabinet members found political relevance in their participation in Sharon’s government where, otherwise, their lack of ability to provide Israelis with an alternate national strategy would have consumed their few remaining political credits among Israeli voters. Israeli democracy will be sorely tested in the weeks to come, and to pass this test a bold, peace-oriented leadership must step forward.

How the Democrats Blew It

by Stephen Zunes | Nov 1, 2002

With the country still mired in recession and polls consistently showing that the Republicans’ positions on such basic policy issues as the environment and the economy are decidedly unpopular, this should have been the Democrats’ year.

Showdown and Compromise at the UN

by Ian Williams | Nov 1, 2002

Bismarck’s dictum that people who want to appreciate treaties and sausages should not watch them being made applies to Security Council resolutions as well. The U.S. is set to win Security Council support for a resolution on Iraq and is already calling it victory.

Let’s Join, Not Fight, the Global Coalition Against War in Iraq

by Jeremy Brecher | Nov 1, 2002

Americans owe a debt of gratitude to the coalition of people and countries around the world that is trying to save us from a catastrophic war in Iraq.

Coming Home

by Conn Hallinan | Nov 1, 2002

Every time I hear the likes of Vice-President Cheney, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, or Senator Lieberman go on about war with Iraq, it reminds me of a history lesson Congress should keep in mind when it begins its debate over Iraq: wars are waged with the bodies of the young, and they always come home.

Stumbling Blindly Into War

by Frida Berrigan | Nov 1, 2002

Is the President turning “new age”? Not only has he massaged the United Nations Security Council into a unanimous vote demanding that Iraq accept weapons inspections, but he seems to have embraced guided meditation practices. In his November 7th press conference at the Executive Office Building, President George W. Bush led the audience through a visualization exercise. “Imagine Saddam Hussein with a nuclear weapon,” he said, “Imagine how the Israeli citizens would feel. Imagine how the citizens of Saudi Arabia would feel. Imagine how the world would change, how he could alter diplomacy by the very presence of a nuclear weapons.”