More Light Than Heat The public forum on the Iraq war sponsored by The New Yorker magazine on Oct. 5 at Manhattan’s Town Hall theater was first-rate. Credit goes to moderator George Packer (author of Assassin’s Gate) and to the participants: Jon Lee Anderson (Fall of Baghdad); Phebe Marr

It was both upsetting and perplexing to learn that Amnesty International has decided to support a right to abortion as part of its worldwide campaign to stop violence against women. How can an organization dedicated to the protection of human rights oppose the right to life of unborn children? The V

Its in the Mail E-mail is a wonderful thing. Quick and easy to use, its an economical, paperless way to communicate with friends, family and colleagues. Who today would choose snail mail over the efficiency and speed of a T-1 line? E-mail is a terrible thing. Far too quick and easy to use, it can ea

Christians Need Not Apply On July 4 the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced the appointment of Meir Sheetrit as Israels Minister of the Interior. The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that shortly after taking office the minister complained about the quasi-Jews, Africans and ill

The war on drugs is driving the U.S. prison systems enormous growth. Over the past quarter century drug arrests have tripled, and almost half a million men and women are behind bars for drug-related offenses. Mandatory minimum sentencing laws, which in many cases focus on drug offenses, have had a d

The visit of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, to the United Nations General Assembly in New York during the week of Sept. 23 presented a sad series of missed opportunities. The city’s tabloids, with their vitriolic headlines, and pressure groups, with their hostile protests, express

A Church in Qatar Despite the bleak news about the situation of Christians in much of the Middle East, there are occasional bright spots and reasons for hope. One glows in the southern part of Doha, the capital of Qatar, on a large parcel of land provided by the emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Th

The United States is in danger of losing the war in Iraq. The risk of defeat is real, despite the modest military successes described to Congress last month by U.S. General David H. Petraeus. For the war primarily requires a political resolution, not a military one, and in this area even the Bush ad

Racist Dictator Daily life in Zimbabwe, a country blessed with natural resources and an energetic population, goes from bad to worse. The average life expectancy for women is 34; for men 37. Inflation is at 8,000 percent. As the people suffer and as African neighbor states seem disinclined to inte

Jailhouse Blues Disturbing news from the vast American prison system suggests that a new kind of censorship is afoot, one far more draconian than anything even the most inventive of inquisitors might have dreamed up. The Federal Bureau of Prisons has used the excuse of potential terrorist agitatio