North America Archive

The United States, the world’s largest oil consumer, is getting uneasy about its steadily increasing dependence on imported petroleum. A question increasingly being asked is whether the U.S. oil habit is sustainable any longer. Not only Democrats and conservationists have posed this question, but also neoconservative advocates and their Republican allies in Congress, who aim to weaken U.S. ties with Middle East petro-states such as Saudi Arabia. President George W. Bush has talked about the link between American oil consumption and national security. In his 2006 State of the Union address he said “America is addicted to oil, which is […]

Many gifted writers have written retrospectives about the five-year anniversary of Sept. 11 and have asked what our country has learned, if anything, from the last five years of war with Islamic fascists. One of the most important questions that has been asked in this bout of introspection is: Does the West actually believe in its stated values, and does it have the will to defend them in the current struggle? In examining this question, I could only think of the stark contrast between Alexaksandr Solzhenitsyn’s commencement address in 1978 and last week’s speech by former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami […]

DOLORES HIDALGO, Mexico — Perhaps hoping to avoid conflict and a political storm at the Sept. 15 independence celebrations in Mexico City’s Zocalo (main square) — the usual site of such festivities — President Vicente Fox bolted for Dolores Hidalgo in his home state of Guanajuato to deliver the annual grito, a reenactment of parish priest Miguel Hidalgo’s call for independence from Spanish rule. Stormy conditions, though, followed the president. The skies opened less than an hour before the 11 p.m. ceremony began, soaking the revelers gathered in the town center. Later, lightning crashed while Fox delivered the grito from […]

So, what is all the fuss about these Geneva Conventions? Considering that the subject of compliance with these treaties not only led every Sunday morning weekly news program, but also is the cause of the so called “rebellion” by a group of highly influential Republican Senators, many are no doubt asking this question. The answer is in some ways complex, in other ways quite simple, and now central to how the United States will frame the nature of the conflict we are struggling not only to win, but to understand. The Geneva Conventions — yes plural — are four treaties […]

In a display of optimism for its prospects at landing a huge U.S. Air Force aerial refueling tanker contract, Northrop Grumman Corp. Sept. 13 hosted representatives of some 100 companies that could become suppliers to the company if it wins. With a likely price tag of at least $20 billion to build a minimum of 100 refueling aircraft, the competition is fierce among defense contractors to land the order. As the only U.S.-based aircraft manufacturer, The Boeing Co. once looked to be a shoe-in for the contract. But now Northrop Grumman, partnering with the European firm that owns Airbus, is […]

This week, an officer responsible for investigating the killing of several Iraqi civilians by four U.S. soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq recommended that they be charged with premeditated murder and face the death penalty. If the Commanding General of the Division accepts this recommendation — which is the common practice — he will send these charges to a General Court-Martial that will ultimately decide their fate, possibly sentencing them to death. If these cases reach a military court room, they will no doubt trigger debate on the “justice” of trying American soldiers for their conduct in battle. […]

Editor’s Note: This article is the first of two that look at the attitudes of young Muslims toward Islam. The second looks at young Muslim women in the Middle East. Twenty-year-old Ahlam Shalabi could be the poster girl for young American Muslims. Shalabi is a college student three days a week at San Diego State University, an officer in her school’s Muslim Student Union (MSA), a volunteer youth leader at a local mosque, and a full-time devout Muslim. She represents a new consciousness emerging among young American Muslims nationwide, one fueled by pride in Islam. “I started wearing hijab [headscarf] […]