Commentary

Almost three years after the attacks on September 11, 2001, the 9/11 Commission Report (The Report) has finally provided the nation with both a comprehensive account of the attacks and some new insights on security recommendations. No doubt about...

Summary Nestled between the two key events on the road to full Iraqi sovereignty— the selection of the Interim Government in May 2004 and elections in January 2005, there is an obscure event that has to date been treated...

For many, it now seems that the hopes and expectations of the large majority of Iraqis that a more participatory and tolerant society would be created in the wake of the fall of the Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein...

On the eve of June 4, 1989, a statue dubbed the “Goddess of Democracy” stood opposite Mao’s giant portrait at Tiananmen Square, until the forces of the People’s Liberation Army brought it crashing down during an infamous night of...

On May 20, Chen Shui-bian began his second four-year term as Taiwan’s first president from the former opposition Democratic Progressive Party. Because he had been more assertive on cross-Strait and Taiwan status issues in his campaign than he had...

The post-conflict reconstruction in Iraq being undertaken by the U.S. and its Coalition partners is a monumental task, with numerous factors complicating American efforts and contributing to unrest in the country. Two of the most important of these are...

Democracy’s Limits and Prospects in the P.R.C. The possible sprouts of democracy and the prospects for democratization in the People’s Republic of China were the principal focus for many of the conference’s participants, who approached these questions from diverse...

April 8, 2004, Tashkent, Uzbekistan — The situation here is grim, not dire. We seemingly know five things about the recent terrorism attacks in Uzbekistan: (1) The attacks were preplanned but prematurely implemented with several not taking place; (2)...

The creation of the United States of America is the central event of the past four hundred years. If some ghostly ship, some Flying Dutchman, were transported in time from the year 1600 into the present, the crew would...

The War on Terrorism is now two-and-a-half years old. As the candidates prepare for the 2004 Presidential election, the fog of partisanship will soon obscure much of what has been done, and not done. That in mind, a few...