The National Interest - NUMBER 104, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

Articles

by Khalil Shikaki
Abbas sits atop a newly invigorated Palestinian Authority. The West Bank is completely secure. The leadership is strong and popular. They want peace but will adopt a one-state solution if Netanyahu turns his back on Palestinian progress. Israel must act now. Failure to do so may threaten the existence of the state itself.

by Christopher Patten
The European Union’s potential for superpower status has been greatly exaggerated. Brussels has neither the stomach for the job, nor the united purpose to undertake it. Obama may be the president of Europe’s dreams, but Europe is unlikely to meet the White House’s expectations anytime soon.

by Alistair Horne
The grisly subject of torture is back with us again. At the height of the Algerian War, good American liberals were appalled by revelations of the abuses acted out by the French army. How easy it is to lose the moral high ground. A look back at the dark days of de Gaulle’s struggle to retain the North African province reveals consequences that echo loudly in our newest fight to retain what it means to be civilized.

by Richard Clarke
It has not taken long to become used to the idea of war as PlayStation. Pilots of Predator drones return home to their wives and children after working all day on the “battlefield.” Cyber war promises a sanitized version of conflict, but it can take down power lines, poison water supplies and destroy financial markets. Battle by keystroke holds its own very real dangers.

by Dimitri K. Simes and Paul J. Saunders
One doesn’t need to be a Russian domestic radical or a foreign Russophobe to see major flaws in the way Russia is ruled. The population, however, is satisfied with the status quo, as long as they reap the benefits of the semiauthoritarian capitalist system. Yet Russians prefer clarity to mystery, and with rumors of a power struggle between Putin and Medvedev, the question is how long can Russia hold fast?

by Joseph E. Stiglitz
America’s debt is ballooning. Runaway inflation threatens our creditors. Faith in the almighty dollar is wavering. Soon a global reserve, complete with its own currency, will land the final blow against the dollar. But contrary to popular opinion, it will be good for the American economy.

by Ahmed Rashid
Afghanistan is in crisis. Unless we redouble our efforts, the Taliban will take Kabul and throw the entire region into chaos. The group has already spread its influence throughout Pakistan and central Asia, inspiring Islamic militants to wage war against autocratic, corrupt and unstable regimes. For the Taliban believes that if jihad is to succeed in Afghanistan, Kabul can only be the first of many victories.

Books & Reviews

by Robert Jervis
From the bikini to the doomsday clock, with the advent of nuclear weapons everything around us seemed to change. Contrarian political scientist John Mueller takes issue with this conventional view of the Atomic Age. His newest release argues weapons of mass destruction changed nothing, save our way of thinking. But how much is our fear of nuclear annihilation the very thing that saved us all?

by Joseph Ellis
It may be that the best one-volume history of the United States has been penned by a Brit. David Reynolds takes us into the very essence of what it means to be an American, offering wisdom perhaps only possible from an outsider.

by David Rieff
Almost fifteen years ago, Daniel Jonah Goldhagen burst onto the international stage, alleging that ordinary Germans willingly assisted Hitler in the mass murder of European Jewry. In a new book, Goldhagen argues that genocide and “eliminationism” continue to endanger millions. But a careful reading of his work reveals that Goldhagen’s sweeping assertions are not as groundbreaking as he claims—nor wholly accurate pictures of the history he recounts.