Negotiating with the Iranians

Repeated suggestions that the United States should negotiate with the Iranians seem to come to naught. President Bush has somehow gotten it into his head that Iran is an “evil state” on a par with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq before our invasion. He wonders how such an evil government can be negotiated with. Sometimes he insists [...]

An Iran – Iraq Project for an International University

A recent article has discussed the attempt to raise money throughout Asia for an international university in northern India that would recapture the glory of learning in that area in medieval times. The university is conceptualized as a rebirth of Nalanda University, one of the leading universities in the world during its medieval existence from [...]

The Holocaust and Iranian Credibility

Iranian credibility has been weakened by the announcement by Tehran that it is hosting a conference on the reality of the European Holocaust in the 1940s. One can agree with Ahmadinejad that the Israelis have used the holocaust to strengthen the appeal of their cause. Much the same can be said of the reasons why [...]

Nationalism and the Kurdish Question

Nationalism has always been with us. But the modern version of nationalism grew out of eighteenth century thinking. This movement led to many of the countries or countries-in-waiting that exist today. It is characteristic of nationalism that it may both strengthen and tear apart a polity. Spanish nationalism made possible the establishment of the [...]