The U.S. and the World (Editors' Introduction)
The 2008 election, more than any election in decades, will turn on questions of foreign policy and national security.
Mike Davis on the California fires, Helena Cobban on Hamas and Hezbollah, Oona A. Hathaway on international law.
Articles
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Undebated Challenges
Sherle R. Schwenninger : As America became mired in Iraq, the rest of the world moved on. Yet neither political party seems ready to face the fundamental economic, environmental and geopolitical changes.
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Avoiding the Toughness Trap
William D. Hartung : Candidates should rethink their commitment to outmoded security tools and veiled nuclear threats against nonnuclear states.
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The Iranian Challenge
Trita Parsi : To change Iran's behavior, we must first change our own.
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Combating Muslim Extremism
Juan Cole : American politicians should stop implying that Muslim nations and individuals are more dangerous than any other group of human beings. They should also stop calling their religion "fascist."
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Facing Hamas and Hezbollah
Helena Cobban : US diplomacy in the Middle East has been held hostage by a refusal to engage with these two popular movements.
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Jobs, Justice and Democracy
Afshin Molavi : Mideast policy must include development.
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Relearning the Art of Diplomacy
Anatol Lieven : Most candidates have no idea what it involves.
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Why We Need International Law
Oona A. Hathaway : It's time to undo the damage and reaffirm America's historical commitment to international law.
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The Great Debate of 2008
Jerry W. Sanders : The time is right for a Great Debate on America's purpose and place in the world. But neither Republicans nor Democrats seem up to the task.
Letters
Editorials & Comment
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People Burn Here
Mike Davis : Illegal immigrants are the invisible victims of the California wildfires.
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Say No to Africom
Danny Glover & Nicole C. Lee : With little Congressional scrutiny and nary a whimper of protest, the United States will soon establish permanent military bases in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Noted.
: Phony FEMA press conference, France v. Rumsfeld, Stephen Colbert and remembering Randall Forsberg.
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False Prophets
Patricia J. Williams : James Watson continues his long and well-documented history of baselessly biologizing social stereotypes.
Reviews
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book
The View From Jantar Mantar
Basharat Peer : The contradictions of parliamentary democracy in India have been a constant source of struggle and rich debate.
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book
Playtime
Mark Polizzotti : The Surrealist dissident Raymond Queneau turned his writings into a lab for his experiments, and the results are still exhilarating.
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music
News From Nowhere
Jeff Chang : Hip-hop star M.I.A. broadcasts the sound of those with one foot in the First World and the other in the global South.
Columns
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DEADLINE POET
The Nicest Republican
Calvin Trillin : Huckabee wins the prize for "Mr. Congeniality" hands down...whatever else you might say about him.
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BEAT THE DEVIL
Du Côté de Chez Madame Defarge
Alexander Cockburn : These days, even London and Paris seem a bit like North Korea.
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SUBJECT TO DEBATE
David Horowitz, Feminist?
Katha Pollitt : The oppression of Muslim women is a major theme among the Islamofascistly aware. If only they felt the same about other women on earth.
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LOOKOUT
Rapture Rescue 911: Disaster Response for the Chosen
Naomi Klein : Gone are the days of equal protection. Intense natural disasters like the California wildfires are being met with a new model: privatized disaster response.
Web
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Turn the Beat Around: When Teens Rule the Game
From running a recording studio to organizing shows to raising money, the Ann Arbor-based Neutral Zone has been more successful at developing youth leadership than any other teen organization in the country.
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Blue Tide In Kentucky--and Virginia
Bob Moser : Democrats gained steam in Tuesday's off-year elections, making it even more obvious that two significant Southern states are up for grabs in 2008.
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Environmentalism With a Social Conscience
Joliange Wright : At the eighteenth annual Bioneers Conference, environmentalists and social activists are creating alliances that allow the poor to share the promise of a greening America.
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The Colbert Rapport
Larry Bogad : Like other prank campaigns, Stephen Colbert's bid for President promised brilliant satire. It's a shame he's called it quits.
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TruthDig
Our Man in Pakistan
Robert Scheer : Gen. Pervez Musharraf turns out to be just another crummy dictator. But he's our dictator--using the $10 billion in US aid to jail judges and lawyers, and give shelter Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Thanks, George.
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Who Lost Pakistan?
Tom Engelhardt : How often can the Bush Administration be caught off guard by the consequences of its own actions? Endlessly, it seems.
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Cracking the Code
Thom Hartmann : How can the left be as adept as the right-wing spin machine at communicating its political agenda? Learn how to use the tools.
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Preparing for the Inevitable
Donald Cohen : The San Diego wildfires should prompt political candidates to address the fact that communities across America are ill-equipped to deal with natural and unnatural disasters.
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San Francisco No Longer Sweat-Free
Tom Hayden : The city has backed away from its longstanding commitment to avoid procuring city workers' garments from offshore sweatshops.
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The Gap: New Frontiers in Child Abuse
Barbara Ehrenreich : The Gap has been caught selling garments made by child slaves in India. It's enough to make you vomit all over your new denim jacket.
Cover by Gene Case & Stephen Kling/Avenging Angels
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