The Teflon Taoiseach: Bertie Ahern took office within weeks of Tony Blair and after 10 years toil, the pair have finally seen peace in Northern Ireland. Mr Blair is stepping down, but his opposite number in Dublin hopes for a second decade in power. What should Gordon Brown do to maximize the chances of Labour achieving a fourth term? Anthony Giddens has some ideas. How much is left of the left? Despite the lack of opposition to Gordon Brown, New Labour's roots are still shallow. A review of The Radical Right in Britain: Social Imperialism to the BNP.
The super judge: Powerful French anti-terrorism judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere believes his country's tough justice system has much to offer other nations in fighting the war on terror. Sex, lies and politics, the French way: They're less prone to adultery than Americans but more forgiving when their politicians philander. A malaise-ridden France just elected the most pro-American president in its history. But Nicolas Sarkozy’s victory doesn’t mean the French are eager to see their socialist perks disappear in a flurry of Anglo-Saxon reforms. Friend or Faux? Olivier Roy on how Nicolas Sarkozy may not be what the French call a “libéral,” but he’s no neocon, either. Immanuel Wallerstein on France and the end of Gaullism.
We want our Europe back! A comparison between the Berlin and the Rome Declarations. The burden of history: Its newest members offer the European Union some history lessons. America and Europe confront a new freeze in their relationship with Russia. Russia memorialized the victory over Nazi Germany, and Vladimir Putin raised his insults to the United States to a new level. Central Asia has long been squabbled over by outsiders. The latest manifestation of this old imperial “Great Game” is a proposed gas pipeline linking Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan with Russia.
An article on the Asian giants' game of chess in Indian Ocean. An article on The Pat Buchanan of India. A map that does justice to the strangeness of the Cooch Behar enclave complex risks either to be too big or too small to show the intricacies of enclaves and counter-enclaves on both side of the Indian-Bangladeshi border. Did Pakistan's president provoke an ethnic war last weekend? A general state of disarray: A slaughter in Karachi, and a vengeful judge, are signs that Pervez Musharraf is struggling to remain in power. Anatol Lieven on why Pakistan must seek unity in the face of extremism.
From Commentary, Norman Podhoretz on The Case for Bombing Iran. A look back at the day Iraq attacked America (accidentally?) twenty years ago. The Army's plan to professionalize Iraq's police could backfire, as militia-infiltrated squads become more effective killers. A truly national army? Iraq's Kurdish soldiers have been welcomed in parts of Baghdad. The Powder Keg Up North: Why Iraqi Kurdistan may be heading for deadly trouble — and Kirkuk may be the flash point. An article on the risk of Turkish intervention in northern Iraq.
Gangs of Iraq: Desperate to shore up its flagging ranks, the military is quietly enlisting thousands of active gang members and shipping them to Iraq. Will a brutal murder finally wake up the Pentagon. It's patriotic to criticize: Fred Kaplan on how our generals got so mediocre. Our government doesn't take care of its veterans. Steve Robinson does. And from TAC, this letter was sent to George Tenet by a group of former intelligence officers. Tenet reportedly received a $4 million advance for his new tell-all
