January 19, 2005

Should We Stay or Should We Go?

With Iraqi elections scheduled to take place in two weeks, many Americans already have one eye on the exit. The Bush administration insists that American troops will stay until a free, stable and peaceful Iraq is established, as Condoleezza Rice did yesterday at her Senate confirmation hearings. But it seems likely that momentum for a speedy withdrawal will increase after the January elections no matter the degree of stability in Iraq.

Posted by jessica at 09:58 AM | Comments (0)

January 04, 2005

A Global Age Catastrophe

With the death toll from the Indian Ocean tsunami at about 150,000 and climbing, the news is bad indeed. Certainly no earthquake has been so remarked upon since Lisbon's in 1755, and that was because it occurred on All Saints' Day — and was immortalized by Voltaire in "Candide."

Posted by jessica at 09:59 AM | Comments (0)

January 03, 2005

Democracy in the Former Soviet Union: 1991-2004

Over the last decade and a half, an unprecedented initiative has taken place in the Former Soviet Union (F.S.U.). In all 15 republics that made up the U.S.S.R., the introduction of Western-style liberal democracy and its principles became the dominant political modus operandi since 1991.

Posted by jessica at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)