Back in the USA

Atlanta Returning to the United States always involves a mixed set of images. Why, I wonder, does the defense of the nation against terrorists require that no one use a mobile phone in Atlanta until they are clear of customs and immigration when travelers arriving at Kennedy airport in New York are perfectly free to let friends and family know they have landed while standing in the 45 minute line at passport control? Read More

The Second Capital of the Arabs

London Read More

So it’s a war - now what?

London Read More

PRC less critical of US than many countries; it’s all about the almighty yuan

China, is an excellent example of the complexity of the American image abroad. U.S. China relations are intertwined at every level of politics, economics, and society and becoming more so daily. Let me put this in a factual context. China is now the seventh largest economy in the world. Within five years it is likely to be the fourth largest. Read More

Civil War Isn’t Coming - It’s Here

Amman, Jordan Incipient civil war. The phrase has been repeated over and over since former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft used it in a speech last week to the New America Foundation. “The Iraqi elections, rather than turning out to be a promising turning point, have the great potential for deepening the conflict,” he said, according to the Washington Post. Read More

Redefining Iraq’s Identity

Amman, Jordan Here’s a question that has been bothering me as I watch the Middle East watch Iraq’s election campaign: if Iraq’s Arab neighbors are worried about the country breaking up (and conventional wisdom holds that they are) then why do they insist on addressing Iraqi issues in language guaranteed to make things even worse than they already are? Read More

The Safest Places to Vote

Amman, Jordan It is one of the many perverse aspects of this month’s Iraqi elections that the safest places to vote are probably going to be outside Iraq. Read More

Public Diplomacy (with skim milk, please; no sugar)

Amman, Jordan Ahh, yes. This is a very American way to spend an hour: sipping coffee in Starbucks, pecking away on my laptop. OK, the experience is not entirely American. For one thing, I appear to be the only person in the store using a computer, but give it time (the manager just wandered past and told me the wireless internet access will probably be up and running next month). Read More

Differences of Perspective

Amman, Jordan There is a peculiar disconnect when you talk to Westerners here and in Baghdad about the upcoming Iraqi elections. Read More

Election Propaganda

Amman, Jordan A few days ago The Washington Times wrote glowingly of election coverage plans at Al-Hurra, the US-funded Arabic-language satellite TV station. Correspondents all over the place. US-style rolling coverage of the returns as they come in. A slew of pre-election documentaries and talk shows designed both to air the issues at stake and to teach people the mechanics of voting. Read More

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