The Bali Bombers: What Motivates Death Worship?

On the anniversary of the Bali bombing, survivors and mourners are still asking: Why? The bombers Amrozi, Mukhlas and Samudra have been sentenced to death, but they show no remorse or regret. What motivates their death worship? At 11.07 pm, October 12 th 2002, 5 kg of...

March to Irrelevance

Many leaders, including French President Jacques Chirac and U. N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, are still seething because the United States and Great Britain led a coalition into Iraq last March without explicit U.N. support. Of course, just a few months earlier, the...

Syria Is The Enemy

Immediately after September 11th, segments of the American foreign policy establishment hoped to include Syria, given its brutal suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood, in the anti-terror coalition against al-Qaeda. Indeed, for a time, it did appear that Damascus might...

Time Do Something About the Budget Deficit?

Despite improving economic and budgetary news, there is rising pressure to do something about the budget deficit. I expect this pressure to grow rapidly over the next year. By early 2005, I believe such pressure will be irresistible. It’s not too soon to start...

Vouchers and Votes

During a recent visit to Washington, I was told by a high official there that he had posed this question to Democrats: “Why are you so opposed to vouchers?” The reply: “We aren’t going to give you guys a victory.” If you stop and think...