The Mediterranean Blog

The presence of al Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM) may be interpreted as the opening of a new front in the cause of international jihad. However, terrorist activity in North Africa is not new, for the region has been convulsed by past jihadist insurgencies. The essay argues that AQIM is a response to jihadists' post-9/11 organizational and ideological problems. The loss of al Qaeda's Afghan sanctuary had made it dependent on affiliates to recruit terrorists. The failure of the North African Salafists to overthrow any government, moreover, requires the commissioning of a new cause. AQIM is a mutually beneficial arrangement among jihadists to compensate for past failures.

It took twenty-seven years and the ending of the Cold War for former New York Times correspondent David Binder to obtain permission to enter Communist Albania. Once there, in 1990, the author was introduced to both suspicion and traditionally warm hospitality. He found Albania impoverished, as it had been throughout its history, but also rich in talented and thoughtful people. Images of Stalin and of Enver Hoxha, Stalin's Albanian imitator, were still omnipresent. "We are a terrorized people," one student commented. Rebellion was in the air.

The essay examines Bush's strategies to democratize Iraq. Failure to draft a plan for Iraq's stabilization led to costly mistakes that drove many Sunnis to join insurgent groups, fueling sectarian strife. Holding multiparty elections was a major accomplishment, but it did not lead to national reconciliation. Meanwhile, Bush has given Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki governmental benchmarks to meet, has sent more troops to drive insurgents out of Baghdad, and has armed Sunni tribes to fight al Qaeda. After reviewing key events, the essay assesses the prospects for the future of democracy in a country where there is neither security nor the rule of law.

The US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 has resulted in a resurgence in Kurdish nationalism. There has also been a revival of the terrorist threat directed against Turkey coming from the Kurdistan Workers' Party based in northern Iraq. The inability of the United States to curb the terrorism problem and the increasing instability of the region as a whole have put pressure on the Turkish government to act decisively. Much of this pressure comes from secularists and the army itself, both of which criticize the ruling AK Party because of its failure to provide security. The decision whether to invade northern Iraq will depend on exactly how Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan chooses to respond to that pressure.

The failures of process and judgment that help explain the war in Iraq are varied. Established patterns of policy making were overshadowed by mechanisms operating outside the formal system, notably by Vice President Richard Chaney. Also, an arrogant defense secretary overpowered senior military officers as well as the Department of State and its secretary. While it is difficult for Congress to constrain a president once a major military enterprise has been approved, Congress has been even more compliant that usual in this case. There are no panaceas, but manageable changes can strengthen the system and make another Iraq far less likely. The roles of the secretary of state and national security adviser need to be strengthened, and career military officers and civil servants must be encouraged and supported in their efforts to offer independent views to the political leadership. Most important is a policy environment open to varied perspectives rather than driven by narrow dogma.

This essay by Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria, examines the challenges (AIDS, poverty, and governance) and opportunities (receptive investment climate, increasing democratization process, and a new framework for development) that African countries must deal with and the rest of the world respond to. The author asserts that Africa must engage the world community if it is interested in harnessing the full potential of its resources, as well as enjoying maximum output. The author argues that Africa is a friendly and profitable arena for investment and is moving away from corrupt and often mismanaged public sectors and toward good governance.

The author, the Greek ambassador to the United States, argues that the Balkan countries have made significant strides in economic and security stabilization over the past decade but points to particular challenges, notably in Kosovo and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). He argues that conditions in both countries remain volatile and that any solutions must come in the context of relations with European neighbors and within the frameworks of existing treaties and policies. He describes how Greece has contributed to economic development in the region in hopes of stabilizing the it as part of the wider European and international communities and argues that actions by FYROM jeopardize its relationship with international organizations and thus pose a threat to stability in the region.

From The Unfree French : Life Under the Occupation, by Richard Vinen , pp. 318-319: The significance of American landings in North Africa, and particularly in Algeria, was complicated. via Far Outliers