Washington reconsiders
The reorientation of US policy, signalled by Colin Powell, suggests a basis for progress in the peace process, writes Ibrahim Nafie

Slipping down the slopes
The United States has put together an international posse to hunt down shadows in the desert. Is the campaign well planned, or ill-fated? Medhat El-Zahed sees ghosts on the political horizon

The Bush-Putin rapprochement
Mohamed Sid-Ahmed wonders if the warm relations between Bush and Putin are merely the result of good chemistry, or whether they reflect the deeper concerns of the two sides

Conditions for war
Hassan Nafaa explains why current events do not bode well for the Middle East

To an American friend
Mustafa Kamel El-Sayed sums up the difference between explanation and justification

Global earthquakes
Shahid Alam wonders what 11 September means for the end of history

Editorial:
The word is occupation

Reflections:
Let's (all) go fly a kite
By Hani Shukrallah

Close up
A very good likeness
By Salama Ahmed Salama

Soapbox:
American fascism
By Ahmed El-Sayed El-Naggar

Naguib Mahfouz
A real surprise