Perhaps a Jewish boy is not the most qualified commenter on the legacy of Pope John Paul II, but even for those of us who felt that his church owed some debts to history, John Paul has made handsome payments on them. There is little question that in his best days, this pope was instrumental in the liberation of Eastern Europe and the transformation of Communism from global threat to just another discarded form of absolutism. History, for the most...

Perhaps a Jewish boy is not the most qualified commenter on the legacy of Pope John Paul II, but even for those of us who felt that his church owed some debts to history, John Paul has made handsome payments on them. There is little question that in his best days, this pope was instrumental in the liberation of Eastern Europe and the transformation of Communism from global threat to just another discarded form of absolutism. History, for the most...

Democracy! Whiskey! Sexy! –Iraqi man to reporter after the fall of Baghdad May this be the year the stranglehold of the dour anti-sex leaguers that darken the land from Kandahar to Amherst is broken by the Protest Babes, who shall cast off their veils, burkas, and hopefully those ridiculous Che Guevara t-shirts. Let them spread freedom from Beirut to Bishkek to Tehran, and then on to Beijing! Let us fervently hope for 2005 to be The Year of the Protest...

What kind of diplomatic response could the United States possibly offer to Roh Moo-Hyun’s astonishing announcement that South Korea will now seek to “balance” its long-time protector against the lean, hungry barbarians that surround it? It’s doubtful that any U.S. official could offer a response he’d want printed–particularly in the context of another deadlocked round of cost-sharing negotiations. That might explain why Washington let the Commanding General of the Eighth U.S. Army, Lieutenant General Charles Campbell, do the talking today:...

What kind of diplomatic response could the United States possibly offer to Roh Moo-Hyun’s astonishing announcement that South Korea will now seek to “balance” its long-time protector against the lean, hungry barbarians that surround it? It’s doubtful that any U.S. official could offer a response he’d want printed–particularly in the context of another deadlocked round of cost-sharing negotiations. That might explain why Washington let the Commanding General of the Eighth U.S. Army, Lieutenant General Charles Campbell, do the talking today:...

The EU’s Divisions: Richard Gere weighs in against the lifting of the EU’s arms embargo against China. I thought this discussion was all over, but anything that helps to expose, discredit, and obstruct the EU’s cynical pursuit of morally neutral “multipolarity” ought to be welcomed. The real redemption of Europe in this case is the amount of internal opposition there to lifting this embargo.

The last time I visited Zimbabwe, 15 years ago, it was the breadbasket of southern Africa. It didn’t look economically dynamic and the sense of “watch what you say” oppression was palpable, but the main roads were being fixed, crops were growing, and the cities seemed to function. It was obviously a far better-run country than Kenneth Kaunda’s Zambia in that day. Today, Zimbabwe has 90% unemployment and people are literally starving–in a nation that used to export its crops...

This text is from today’s New York Times, discussing oil-for-food: The Volcker committee cleared Mr. Annan of using any influence in the awarding of an oil-for-food contract to the company that employed his son Kojo Annan, but it faulted him for conducting only a superficial inquiry into the company’s [Cotecna, the one that employed his son Kojo and paid him $300,000] relationship with the United Nations once conflict of interest concerns arose. The report also accused Mr. Annan’s longtime chief...

The EU’s Divisions: Richard Gere weighs in against the lifting of the EU’s arms embargo against China. I thought this discussion was all over, but anything that helps to expose, discredit, and obstruct the EU’s cynical pursuit of morally neutral “multipolarity” ought to be welcomed. The real redemption of Europe in this case is the amount of internal opposition there to lifting this embargo.

The last time I visited Zimbabwe, 15 years ago, it was the breadbasket of southern Africa. It didn’t look economically dynamic and the sense of “watch what you say” oppression was palpable, but the main roads were being fixed, crops were growing, and the cities seemed to function. It was obviously a far better-run country than Kenneth Kaunda’s Zambia in that day. Today, Zimbabwe has 90% unemployment and people are literally starving–in a nation that used to export its crops...

This text is from today’s New York Times, discussing oil-for-food: The Volcker committee cleared Mr. Annan of using any influence in the awarding of an oil-for-food contract to the company that employed his son Kojo Annan, but it faulted him for conducting only a superficial inquiry into the company’s [Cotecna, the one that employed his son Kojo and paid him $300,000] relationship with the United Nations once conflict of interest concerns arose. The report also accused Mr. Annan’s longtime chief...

So, just how hard it is to picture this brawl happening over something other than soccer? Well, so much for that highly ordered, robotically obedient society: Angry North Korean soccer fans in Pyongyang pelted visiting players and referees with bottles and cans on Wednesday evening, requiring the intervention of the police and providing seldom seen evidence of spontaneous violence in the tightly controlled stat Still, the story isn’t entirely amusing, as the BBC reports: A North Korean defector and former...

Score One for ‘Soft’ Power: The inside story of how Freedom House helped overthrow the Kyrgyz dictatorship is here. Freedom House is expected to announce the hiring of its new Director for North Korea Advocacy any day now, using $2 million in grant money that comes courtesy of Section 102 of the North Korea Human Rights Act. I have great respect for the work FH does, but I wonder if North Korea is a challenge for which they’re really prepared....

The New York Times has a very interesting article on the North-Korea Libya story today. Again, we almost delve into the question of how much evidence of guilt we demand in relation to deliberatively secretive regimes that create unbearable risks, and whether secretive regimes should be entitled to the benefits of doubts they cultivate. David Sanger misses the latter point entirely and indulges in plenty of gratuitous editorializing about Iraq. Put that aside, however, and he’s done a fine job...

So, just how hard it is to picture this brawl happening over something other than soccer? Well, so much for that highly ordered, robotically obedient society: Angry North Korean soccer fans in Pyongyang pelted visiting players and referees with bottles and cans on Wednesday evening, requiring the intervention of the police and providing seldom seen evidence of spontaneous violence in the tightly controlled stat Still, the story isn’t entirely amusing, as the BBC reports: A North Korean defector and former...

Score One for ‘Soft’ Power: The inside story of how Freedom House helped overthrow the Kyrgyz dictatorship is here. Freedom House is expected to announce the hiring of its new Director for North Korea Advocacy any day now, using $2 million in grant money that comes courtesy of Section 102 of the North Korea Human Rights Act. I have great respect for the work FH does, but I wonder if North Korea is a challenge for which they’re really prepared....

The New York Times has a very interesting article on the North-Korea Libya story today. Again, we almost delve into the question of how much evidence of guilt we demand in relation to deliberatively secretive regimes that create unbearable risks, and whether secretive regimes should be entitled to the benefits of doubts they cultivate. David Sanger misses the latter point entirely and indulges in plenty of gratuitous editorializing about Iraq. Put that aside, however, and he’s done a fine job...

The New York Times has a very interesting article on the North-Korea Libya story today. Again, we almost delve into the question of how much evidence of guilt we demand in relation to deliberatively secretive regimes that create unbearable risks, and whether secretive regimes should be entitled to the benefits of doubts they cultivate. David Sanger misses the latter point entirely and indulges in plenty of gratuitous editorializing about Iraq. Put that aside, however, and he’s done a fine job...