The National Interest articles from November 2008

The National Interest archives from November 2008

Russian roulette.(The Realist)
November 1, 2008... American democracy is malfunctioning to the detriment of our foreign-policy decision making. The hysterical and one-sided U.S. media coverage of the August war between Russia and Georgia is just the most recent example. Watching the way the...

Oil dependence as virtue.(Company overview)
November 1, 2008... As the strategic and economic value of oil skyrocketed during the first half of this year, many experts declared that the global distribution of power is rapidly shifting to oil exporters--specifically, Russia and the members of the...

Afghan awakening.
November 1, 2008... In September of 2008, Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made a remarkable statement. He said, "I'm not convinced we're winning in Afghanistan. I am convinced we can. That is why I intend to commission and... am...

Standoff at the 38th Parallel.
November 1, 2008... One Korea John Bolton North Korea is and will remain a threat to the United States and our friends and allies as long as it retains nuclear weapons, which likely means as long as it exists. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea...

Iranian Resurrection.
November 1, 2008... Holding sway over a third of the Middle East and blackmailing 55 percent of the world's oil reserves, Iran is looking more and more like a superpower. Tehran has not achieved this through classic imperialism--invasion and occupation--but rather...

Xenophobia on the continent.
November 1, 2008... A disturbing new trend is emerging across Europe. Anti-Semitism and xenophobia are on the rise. A growing minority of citizens in several European countries holds unfavorable opinions of Jews. Negative views of Israel, sympathy with the...

The art of Petraeus.
November 1, 2008... In a lively, ongoing debate, some authors have credited General Petraeus with transforming the United States military and wonder if his success will have long-term impacts. The most visible part of the debate over this legacy concerns whether...

Pakistan postscript.
November 1, 2008... On August 18, 2008, Pakistan entered the post-Musharraf era. Eventually this new chapter in Pakistan's history may go by another name, but for now what has been discarded is far more obvious than what has taken its place. Today's Pakistan,...

Israel's fight-or-flight response.(immigration)
November 1, 2008... Israel, obsessed with the prospect of nuclear weapons in the hands of the Iranian leadership, may inadvertently destroy itself--that is, cease to exist as a coherent Jewish state--without a single shot being fired or bomb blowing up. In...

Terror in extremis.(Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?)(Book review)
November 1, 2008... Brian Michael Jenkins, Will Terrorists Go Nuclear? (New York: Prometheus Books, 2008), 457 pp., $26.95. Brian Jenkins does not think we, as a nation, should ignore the risks associated with a nuclear terrorist attack. He does not believe...

The Tao of the Arab center.
November 1, 2008... Marwan Muasher, The Arab Center: The Promise of Moderation (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008), 336 pp., $30.00. Kenneth M. Pollack, A Path Out of the Desert: A Grand Strategy for America in the Middle East (New York: Random House,...

Reflections from the Right.
November 1, 2008... Douglas J. Feith, War and Decision: Inside the Pentagon at the Dawn of the War On Terrorism (New York: HarperCollins, 2008), 688 pp., $27.95. Michael Gerson, Heroic Conservatism: Why Republicans Need to Embrace America's Ideals (And Why...