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May/June 2012

Editor's Introduction
James S. Denton
Developments under way throughout a volatile Middle East are in fast-forward. An array of sharply conflicting interests and visions collide as the region lurches toward a new order that will have far-reaching consequences for democracy, modernity, and prosperity throughout the region—as well as security throughout the world. That much is apparent. But what that order will be, and how much more or less dangerous, violent, and bloody it will get—and who the eventual winners and losers will be—is anything but. ... Read More

Meet the Free Syrian Army

Jonathan Spyer
Despite limited weaponry, inadequate training, and weak central authority, Syria’s insurgent rebel groups seem authentic and determined. Will the West help them topple Assad?

Israel and Iran: An Attack Might Be Necessary, but Not Yet

Robert Wexler
The US, Israel, and its allies cannot allow a nuclear Iran, but any military action should be US-led and only occur if all diplomatic, economic, and covert tactical options are exhausted.

Israel and Iran: The Grounds for an Israeli Attack

Elliott Abrams
Given Washington’s current reluctance to use military action against Iran’s nuclear program, Western leaders should at least grant that Israeli action is justifiable.

Read Me If You Can: Censorship Today

James Kirchick
Nick Cohen’s new book is a full-spirited, wide-ranging defense of free expression—and an unsparing attack on those who would impede it.

How Soviet Propaganda Worked

Ronald Radosh
Trials in Prague and New York in 1952 show the extent of Soviet Cold War deception and hypocrisy—not to mention brutality.

The Tense Future of US-Pakistan Relations

Shehzad Qazi
Washington and Islamabad’s ambiguous alliance is insufficient to manage their common and clashing interests. It’s time to fundamentally rethink the relationship, if it’s to endure.

The Rise of the New Communists

Alan Johnson
Despite its intellectual celebrity, the new communism of Slavoj Zizek, Alain Badiou, and their fellow travelers in Western universities offers nothing but a return to left-wing totalitarianism.

Germany and the Euro Crisis

John Rosenthal
The euro myth tells of the Continent’s profligate south and thrifty north, but many EU problems track back to Germany’s aggressive drive for economic dominance.

Is Spain the Next Greece?

Roland Flamini
Spain’s austerity efforts and fiscal reforms have produced hopeful but inconclusive results. With Europe’s highest rate of unemployment, Spain remains saddled by a staggering deficit, spiking crime, an unsettled population, and increasingly tense regional divides.

Are the Mullahs Losing Their Grip on Tehran?

Jamsheed K. Choksy
Are divisions within Iran’s longstanding theocracy weakening the religious fundamentalists’ grip on power? And what might come next?

Assad’s Sectarian Card

Jackson Diehl
Today’s major world conflicts—autocracy versus democracy; the West versus the China-Russia axis; Iran and its allies versus the US, Israel, and “moderate” Arab states—intersect and collide in Syria, where sectarianism’s ancient hatreds may well tip their outcomes.

In the May/June Issue

Bacevich, Diehl, Hayden, Perle, Rieff, Wolfowitz, and others debate the lessons of Iraq. Juan de Onis on Latin America’s divide, Riviera on China’s pollution, and Michael Zantovsky on “Iron Curtain.” Plus Scottish independence, and more...

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