When I sat down last Tuesday night to write this column, the internet search engine Google News was listing over 2200 articles in English only written about the Danish cartoon controversy, followed with over 1900 articles by the Iranian nuclear controversy. At first sight, there is no obvious connec
There is more to be said about the sweeping electoral victory of Hamas in the Palestinian legislative elections of 25 January 2006 than the fact that it came as a total surprise to its political rival, Fatah, Israel, the United States and Europe to name but a few. The rise to “official” power of Ham
When the 35-member Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency meets next week to consider the case of Iran’s nuclear program, it will convene against the background of rather alarming statements made by two Presidents of nuclear-weapons States: Chirac, who threatened to launc
"America, our coalition, and Iraqi leaders are working towards the same goal — a democratic Iraq that can defend itself, and that will serve as a model of freedom for the Middle East." This is how President Bush summarized the White House”s policy in Iraq in his 18 Decemb
When the Head of the Security Council mandated Commission established to investigate the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on 14 February 2004 took up his high profile position, it apparently took only a few weeks for the German Prosecutor to privilege the "Syrian Track
“Justice” is a complex and serious subject; one that civilizations have grappled with for millennia –and the quest for “justice” has defined ancient civilizations and modern societies alike. When it comes to Iraq today, clearly, the question is not whether the deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
The United Nations marked last Tuesday the "International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People" held every year on 29 November. Paradoxically, this is the day the General Assembly adopted in 1947 Resolution 181 on the "Future Government of Palestine" –a landm
“How to keep the peace” is a question at the core of the 60-year old United Nations, the only international organization with a universal membership. An institution that has helped shape the world of today. “How to keep the peace” is the seminal question through which the United Nations is seen thro
“How to win a battle against terrorism and lose the war of ideas. ]…[ Women plant bombs in cafes. Soon the entire Arab population builds to a mad fervor. Sound familiar? The French have a plan. It succeeds tactically, but fails strategically. To understand why, come to a rare showing of [The B
With the adoption of Security Council resolution 1636, the fate of Syria is now firmly in the hands of one man: Detlev Mehlis, the Head of the UN Commission investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafiq Hariri. The new resolution gives the German judge sweeping powers and
Long before the assassination of the late Rafik Hariri on 14 February 2005, Washington’s policy vis-à-vis Syria was clear: it wanted a radical policy shift in Damascus, or else “regime change”. With the release of the interim report by the German Prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, appointed by the Secretary-
Now that the much needed and hoped reform of the UN Security Council has been laid to rest for the foreseeable future, intrigues and innuendos can resume with strategies and deals cut in dark corners. Or around breakfast tables as was the case this week in the official residence of the Secretary-Gen
The United Nations is now in the implementation phase of the declaration adopted by Heads of State and Government last September. The Secretary-General and his staff have been actively seeking to demonstrate that the outcome of the summit was a big step in the right direction to bring the UN into th