Tony Blair’s
Unfinished Business

He finally did it. On Sept. 7, Tony Blair announced that he would step down as prime minister of Britain sometime within the next 12 months. Blair's decision was spurred by a letter from a group of previously loyal MPs requesting that he leave office for the good of...

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World Politics and Show Biz

Once again, the UN is entertaining – and that's not a good thing. Its ominous meaning is that the world crisis is deepening, but in the meantime we are in for quite a spectacle. Hugo Chávez stole the show the other day, with his remarks likening the...

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Watch That Box for al-Jazeera, and More

LONDON - The appearance of an English-language service from al-Jazeera television will mark more than expansion of a company; it will come as one of the biggest challenges yet to the dominance of Western news providers, academics say. "The forthcoming launch of...

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US Isolated on Guantánamo

GENEVA - A team of United Nations human rights experts set forth sharply worded arguments Thursday against the U.S. detention center at the naval base at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba and announced that investigations into secret detention centers would continue in...

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Hooked on a Failing

First they said it was a war against al-Qaeda. Then, when they failed to find Osama bin Laden and his henchmen, they said it was a war to topple the Taliban and liberate women from the burqa. Now, as Western troops continue to dig themselves into Afghanistan more than...

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Home Raids Provoke
Increased Unrest in Iraq

With Ali al-Fadhily BAGHDAD - Renewed raids at Iraqi homes by joint U.S.-Iraqi security forces are angering Iraqis – while failing to improve the worsening security situation. "Operation Forward Together should be called 'To Hell Together,'" 53-year-old Hamid...

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Iraq Occupation Depends on Sadr – and Iran

For many months, the George W. Bush administration has been complaining that Iranian meddling in Iraq is a threat to the country's stability and to U.S. troops. The irony of this publicity campaign over Tehran's alleged bid to undermine the occupation is that Iran may...

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Iran War, Diplomacy on Parallel Tracks

If you're feeling increasingly confused about whether the administration of President George W. Bush is determined to go to war with Iran or whether it is instead truly committed to a diplomatic process with its European allies to reach some kind of modus vivendi,...

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What’s Wrong With
American Foreign Policy?

What's wrong with American foreign policy is actually a lot more complicated than the subhead of this piece would have it, but I just couldn't resist the temptation: besides which, our president is a major cause – albeit not the only cause – of the...

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