Foreign Affairs – To tame the growing power of Iran, Washington must eschew military options, the prospect of conditional talks, and attempts to contain the regime. Instead, it should adopt a new policy of dÈtente. By offering the pragmatists in Tehran a chance to resume diplomatic and economic relations with the United States, it could help them sideline the radicals and tip Iran’s internal balance of power in their favor.
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Foreign Affairs – The White House still avoids the label, but by any reasonable historical standard, the Iraqi civil war has begun. The record of past such wars suggests that Washington cannot stop this one — and that Iraqis will be able to reach a power-sharing deal only after much more fighting, if then. The United States can help bring about a settlement eventually by balancing Iraqi factions from afar, but there is little it can do to avert bloodshed now.
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New York Times Magazine – Who will be ruling Russia next year? And what of the democracy that will decide that?
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New Yorker – Why are Vladimir Putinís opponents dying? An insightful look into the state of politics and government in Russia today.
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Foreign Affairs – Thanks to a recent extraordinary rise in public and private giving, today more money is being directed toward the world’s poor and sick than ever before. But unless these efforts start tackling public health in general instead of narrow, disease-specific problems — and unless the brain drain from the developing world can be stopped — poor countries could be pushed even further into trouble, in yet another tale of well-intended foreign meddling gone awry.
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Foreign Affairs – Much of the already voluminous commentary on the war on terrorism centers on the question of whether it is a war at all. Here is an analysis of three books that are willing to stipulate, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, that it is. They differ dramatically, however, over what tactics this war allows and, more broadly, what it means for governing within the limits of the U.S. Constitution.
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Los Angeles Times – Robert Kaplan writes that just as the demise of Slobodan Milosevic in Yugoslavia closed the lid on national communist parties in Eastern Europe, the demise of Saddam Hussein in Iraq appears likely to do the same for secular Arab nationalism across the Middle East.
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Foreign Affairs – The smooth transfer of power from Fidel Castro to his successors is exposing the willful ignorance and wishful thinking of U.S. policy toward Cuba. The post-Fidel transition is already well under way, and change in Cuba will come only gradually from here on out. With or without Fidel, renewed U.S. efforts to topple the revolutionary regime in Havana can do no good — and have the potential to do considerable harm.
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Foreign Affairs – The war on terrorism is not just about security or military tactics. It is a battle of values, and one that can only be won by the triumph of tolerance and liberty. Afghanistan and Iraq have been the necessary starting points of this battle. Success there, however, must be coupled with a bolder, more consistent, and more thorough application of global values, with Washington leading the way.
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Foreign Affairs – The massive growth of hedge funds has sparked warnings of instability and demands that the industry be regulated. But the fear of hedge funds is overblown, based on a misunderstanding of their role in the international financial system. In reality, hedge funds do not increase risk; they manage it — and policymakers, rather than clamping down, should make sure hedge funds have the tools to perform this function well.
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Foreign Affairs – The age of U.S. dominance in the Middle East has ended and a new era in the modern history of the region has begun. It will be shaped by new actors and new forces competing for influence, and to master it, Washington will have to rely more on diplomacy than on military might.
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Foreign Affairs – The United States is far less divided on immigration than the current debate would suggest. An overwhelming majority of Americans want a combination of tougher enforcement and earned citizenship for the 12 million illegal immigrants in the country. Washington’s challenge is to translate this consensus into sound legislation that will start to repair the nation’s broken immigration system.
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Weekly Standard – Ralph Peters on tribalism vs. globalization.
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Foreign Affairs – In The Best Intentions, James Traub provides an inside view of the UN secretary-general during one of the organization’s most tumultuous eras. Annan emerges as a flawed but principled statesman, with a stature his successors are unlikely to achieve.
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Washignton Post – Robert Kaplan comments on the future of US intervention abroad.
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Foreign Affairs – Reports that U.S. troops may have killed 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq, last November have renewed fears that the U.S. military routinely violates the laws of war. But is the Haditha incident the exception or the rule? In fact, U.S. compliance with noncombatant immunity in Iraq has been relatively high by historical standards, and it has been improving since the beginning of the war.
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Foreign Affairs – After dispelling myths about Tehran — that the regime is unitary, evil, and about to collapse — Ray Takeyh’s skillful book on U.S.-Iranian relations offers pragmatic prescriptions to Washington: against regime change and for more engagement.
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Daily Telegraph – John Keegan on why Israel will attack Hezbollah again, soon.
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Naval War College Review – Uniformed officers have an obligation to stand up to civilian leaders if they think a policy is flawed. But once a policy decision is made, soldiers are obligated to carry it out. The idea that a general or admiral should publicly attack government policy and its civilian authors in time of war is dangerous.
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Defense and the National Interest – Martin van Creveld addresses how European countries should accommodate or otherwise deal with their Muslim minorities. Five hundred years ago, Spain faced exactly the same issue.
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Daily Telegraph – Niall Ferguson on why the US should follow the Geneva Conventions.
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Foreign Affairs – Religion has always been a major force in U.S. politics, but the recent surge in the number and the power of evangelicals is recasting the country’s political scene — with dramatic implications for foreign policy. This should not be cause for panic: evangelicals are passionately devoted to justice and improving the world, and eager to reach out across sectarian lines.
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New York Times Magazine – Beijingís ambassador to the United Nations has begun to act as if he represents a very, very powerful country.
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Foreign Affairs – Over the last year, the U.S. and Indian governments struck a deal that recognizes India as a nuclear weapons power. Critics say Washington gave up too much too soon and at a great cost to nonproliferation efforts. Perhaps. But India could in time become a valuable security partner. So despite the deal’s flaws and the uncertainties surrounding its implementation, Washington should move forward with it.
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Foreign Affairs – Can anything — international mediation, regional collaboration, decentralization, or constitutional negotiations — save Iraq from a full-fledged civil war and the Bush administration from a foreign policy fiasco?
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