Think Again

Think Again: Japan's Lost Decade

As the economic gloom deepens, many American politicians and commentators have invoked the recent history of Japan as a cautionary tale. But the comparison may be more misleading than helpful.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | APRIL 3, 2009

Think Again: Globalization

Forget the premature obituaries. To its critics, globalization is the cause of today's financial collapse, growing inequality, unfair trade, and insecurity. To its boosters, it's the solution to these problems. What's not debatable is that it is here to stay.

BY MOISÉS NAÍM | FEBRUARY 16, 2009

Think Again: Talking with Iran

With a new president in the White House and a celebrated reformist shaking up Tehran, the time seems ripe for a diplomatic breakthrough 30 years in the waiting. But when it comes to dealing with the Islamic Republic, be forewarned: Washington's usual go-slow approach is doomed to fail.

BY HILLARY MANN LEVERETT | FEBRUARY 10, 2009

Think Again: Guantánamo

The risks posed by released detainees are overblown. Closing the prison at Guantánamo won’t be easy, but that’s a small price to pay to right a legal and moral wrong seven years in the making.

BY KAREN GREENBERG | JANUARY 29, 2009

Think Again: Barack Obama and the War on Terror

Don’t hold your breath waiting for Barack Obama to end the war on terror.

BY DAVID M. EDELSTEIN, RONALD R. KREBS | JANUARY 19, 2009

Think Again: Counterinsurgency

Why the U.S. Army's focus on nation-building at the expense of warfighting is misguided and dangerous.

BY GIAN P. GENTILE | JANUARY 13, 2009

Think Again: Pirates

More than 20 countries are joining a special U.S.-led naval force to combat pirates off the coast of Somalia. But it won’t be warships that defeat these modern-day sea dogs.

BY DEREK S. REVERON | JANUARY 12, 2009

Think Again: Climate Change

Act now, we're told, if we want to save the planet from a climate catastrophe. Trouble is, it might be too late. The science is settled, and the damage has already begun. The only question now is whether we will stop playing political games and embrace the few imperfect options we have left.

BY BILL MCKIBBEN | JANUARY 1, 2009

Think Again: The Catholic Church

From the outside, the Vatican appears resistant to change and tone-deaf to scandal. But, in truth, the world's oldest religious institution bears little resemblance to the mysterious church imagined by conspiracy theorists. Today, Catholicism is attracting millions of new and diverse followers who are embracing the church's traditions of debate and independence as gospel.

BY JOHN L. ALLEN JR. | OCTOBER 15, 2008

Think Again: Bush's Legacy

He may be the most unpopular president in modern times: a reckless, unilateralist cowboy. But history will be kinder to George W. Bush than contemporary caricatures. After eight years, he leaves behind much more than a defeated dictator in Iraq. Closer ties to India, a pragmatic relationship with China, and the pressure he applied to Iran will pay dividends for years to come.

BY DAVID FRUM | AUGUST 12, 2008

Think Again: The Olympics

The Olympic Games were founded to bridge cultural divides and promote peace. Instead, they often mask human rights abuses, do little to spur political change, and lend legitimacy to unsavory governments. Worse, the Beijing Games could still be the most controversial of all.

BY JOHN HOBERMAN | JUNE 16, 2008

Think Again: Israel

Six decades after its founding, the Jewish state is neither as vulnerable as its supporters claim nor as callous and calculating as its critics imagine. But if it is to continue defying all expectations, Israel must first confront its own mythology.

BY GERSHOM GORENBERG | APRIL 10, 2008

Think Again: Geneva Conventions

They help protect civilians and soldiers from the atrocities of war. But these hard-won rules of battle are falling by the wayside: Terrorists ignore them, and governments increasingly find them quaint and outdated. With every violation, war only gets deadlier for everyone.

BY STEVEN R. RATNER | FEBRUARY 19, 2008

Think Again: Vladimir Putin

He has been called a despot, a menace, and even a murderer. But Vladimir Putin's half-baked autocratic regime won't rule Russia forever. After nearly a decade in power, Putin is more isolated than ever. Will he step down, leaving behind a paralyzed political system and a bootless economy? Or will he continue the charade of phony democracy that has brought him this far?

BY LILIA SHEVTSOVA | DECEMBER 13, 2007

Think Again: Oil

It protects wealthy autocrats, poisons the environment, and fuels international conflicts. Yet it won't be the false threat of scarcity or the rise of an Asian energy axis that convinces the world to finally kick the oil habit. An auto revolution courtesy of Silicon Valley and Shanghai may deliver an end to the defining addiction of our age.

BY VIJAY V. VAITHEESWARAN | OCTOBER 11, 2007

Think Again: Drugs

Prohibition has failed -- again. Instead of treating the demand for illegal drugs as a market, and addicts as patients, policymakers the world over have boosted the profits of drug lords and fostered narcostates that would frighten Al Capone. Finally, a smarter drug control regime that values reality over rhetoric is rising to replace the "war" on drugs.

BY ETHAN NADELMANN | AUGUST 15, 2007

Think Again: Europe

It likes to pretend it is a kinder, gentler alternative to the United States. But stagnant economies, suffering immigrants, and elitist rhetoric don't make a global powerhouse. With nothing less than the future of the European project at stake, the countries of Europe must now either unite behind much-needed reforms, or watch their differences tear them apart.

BY CLIVE CROOK | JUNE 11, 2007

Think Again: Condoleezza Rice

She is considered the ultimate team player, a woman of intelligence and poise whose loyalty to President George W. Bush is unwavering. But a closer look reveals that Condi is less intellectual, politically savvier, and far more formidable than people realize.

BY MARCUS MABRY | APRIL 18, 2007

Think Again: China

It's often said that China is walking a tightrope: Its economy depends on foreign money, its leadership is set in its ways, and its military expansion threatens the world. But the Middle Kingdom's immediate dangers run deeper than you realize.

BY HARRY HARDING | FEBRUARY 14, 2007

Think Again: Rupert Murdoch

The CEO of News Corp. has been injecting his personal views into the press and promoting provocative entertainment for nearly four decades. But the tycoon is no tyrant. He's less powerful than you think and not the evil genius you fear.

BY RIK KIRKLAND | JANUARY 1, 2007

Think Again: Israel vs. Hezbollah

The recent war revealed neither a vulnerable Jewish state nor a Lebanese militia carrying the hopes of the Arab world. In truth, Israel could never have delivered the decisive victory its citizens expected, and Hezbollah has been left weakened and resented. The conflict was bloodier than anyone anticipated, but it just might set the stage for a new order in the Middle East.

BY NAHUM BARNEA | OCTOBER 10, 2006

Think Again: 9/11

The attacks on the United States were neither a clash of civilizations nor an unqualified success for al Qaeda. They were, however, a clash of policy that continues to this day. As al Qaeda struggles to strike again, the United States wrestles with a confused war on terror that won't end until Americans are forced to choose between Medicare and missiles.

BY JUAN COLE | AUGUST 8, 2006

Think Again: Al Jazeera

It is vilified as a propaganda machine and Osama bin Laden's mouthpiece. In truth, though, Al Jazeera is as hated in the palaces of Riyadh as it is in the White House. But, as millions of loyal viewers already know, Al Jazeera promotes a level of free speech and dissent rarely seen in the Arab world. With plans to go global, it might just become your network of choice.

BY HUGH MILES | JUNE 12, 2006

Think Again: Google

In only eight years, the darling of the Internet world has rocketed to fame and fortune. Boasting users in every corner of the world, the popular search engine is the quintessential American success story. Yet it has begun to draw skepticism from Wall Street and the ire of human rights groups. Is Google really as kind, ubiquitous, and omnipotent as it seems?

BY DAVID A. VISE | APRIL 25, 2006

Think Again: International Courts

Criminal tribunals in places such as Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia were supposed to bring justice to oppressed peoples. Instead, they have squandered billions of dollars, failed to advance human rights, and ignored the wishes of the victims they claim to represent. It's time to abandon the false hope of international justice.

BY HELENA COBBAN | FEBRUARY 17, 2006

Think Again: Airlines

Bankruptcies, terrorism, and high oil prices have rocked the airline industry. Customers complain about bad service and long lines. Are airlines doomed? Not a chance. The global economy cannot function without air travel. But the industry that emerges from the coming shakeout will need a whole new set of wings.

BY GIOVANNI BISIGNANI | JANUARY 4, 2006

Think Again: Energy Independence

High oil prices have everyone talking about energy independence again. But a look at the numbers reveals the vaunted goal is an illusion. And conservation isn't the answer, either. The sooner we realize it, the sooner we can talk about real solutions to the energy crisis.

BY PHILIP J. DEUTCH | NOVEMBER 9, 2005

Think Again: Human Trafficking

Judging by news headlines, human trafficking is a recent phenomenon. In fact, the coerced movement of people across borders is as old as the laws of supply and demand. What is new is the volume of the traffic -- and the realization that we have done little to stem the tide. We must look beyond our raw emotions if we are ever to stop those who trade in human lives.

BY DAVID A. FEINGOLD | AUGUST 30, 2005

Think Again: Homeland Security

For the vast majority of Americans, the chances of dying in a terrorist attack are close to zero. There's a higher probability that you’ll die by falling off a ladder than getting mixed up in some terrorist plot. So why is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security constantly telling every American to be afraid? That's a strategy that creates widespread fear without making America any safer. U.S. homeland security efforts should focus less on what is possible and more on what is probable.

BY BENJAMIN FRIEDMAN | JULY 1, 2005

Think Again: Iran

Tehran's desire for a nuclear bomb has put it in Washington's cross hairs. But neither President George W. Bush's repeated condemnations of Iran's clerical rulers nor the threat of military force will advance the cause of democracy there. When Iran reforms, it will happen because its youth -- not the United States -- demands it.

BY CHRISTOPHER DE BELLAIGUE | MAY 5, 2005