Jim Lobe

Despite popular support for girls’ education, attacks by a resurgent Taliban and other groups in southern and southeastern Afghanistan are forcing the closure of schools throughout the region and beyond, according to a new report released Monday by Human Rights Watch (HRW). The report, “Lessons in Terror: Attacks on Education in Afghanistan," detailed more than … Continue reading “Afghanistan’s Girls’ Schools Under Siege”

Amid worsening violence between Palestinian fighters and the Israeli military in Gaza, calls are mounting here for the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush to take a stronger role in ending the escalating conflict. Aside from calling for the unconditional release of an Israeli soldier held by Palestinian militants believed to be tied to … Continue reading “Growing Calls for US to Step Into Mideast Mess”

A week before the Group of Eight (G8) summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, U.S. President George W. Bush finds his power and authority – both at home and abroad – at their lowest ebb. With his approval ratings falling back into the cellar after a brief bounce following last month’s death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, … Continue reading “Requiem for Bush’s Unipolar Dream?”

Although it may raise regional tensions in the short run, Wednesday’s test-firing by North Korea of at least seven missiles, including its multi-stage, inter-continental Taepodong-2 rocket, could speed resumption of long-stalled diplomatic efforts to curb Pyongyang’s nuclear-arms program, according to some experts here. Indeed, initial reactions from Washington and other capitals, while strongly negative, suggested … Continue reading “Will Missile Tests Lead to New Talks?”

It was in 1776 that a group of British colonists living along the Atlantic seaboard of North America felt compelled to offer a public justification for their "Declaration of Independence" from their mother country out of "a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind." That justification, a bill of particulars against King George II for … Continue reading “‘Decent Respect’ Might Help Image Woes Abroad”

In a major defeat for President George W. Bush with potentially far-reaching implications for his conduct of the "war on terror," the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday ruled that military tribunals established by the Pentagon to try suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, violated the U.S. Constitution. Writing for a 5-3 court majority, Justice John … Continue reading “‘Unlawful Combatants’ Do Have Rights, Court Rules”

A "great divide" separates the worldviews of Muslims and Westerners, according to the results of a major new survey which suggests that European Muslims, who held the most tolerant views, could be a bridge between the two groups. "Many in the West see Muslims as fanatical, violent, and as lacking tolerance," according to an analysis … Continue reading “Survey Finds ‘Great Divide’ in Muslim and Western Opinions”

With less than six months before the mid-term congressional elections, President George W. Bush and his top aides are gambling heavily – some would say recklessly – that Iraq will not be the political liability for Republicans that most pundits have believed it would be. The White House’s apparent belief that recent events in Iraq … Continue reading “Bush Hitches GOP’s Political Star to Iraq”

An exodus of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis escaping growing violence in their homeland last year increased the total number of refugees around the world to some 12 million, according to the World Refugee Survey 2006 released here Wednesday by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI). That total marked a reversal of a … Continue reading “Iraq Exodus Ends Four-Year Decline in Refugees”

Three years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the image of the United States in Europe and the Islamic world has resumed its postwar slide, according to the latest in a series of surveys of public opinion [.pdf] in 14 countries released here Tuesday by the Pew Global Attitudes Project (PGAP). Support for Washington’s "global … Continue reading “US Image Abroad Takes a New Turn South”