The Godfather's war
The expected war against Iraq, says former Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, is anything but a weapons issue -- and its repercussions might prove catastrophic, reports Amira Howeidy

Hot under
The United States is increasingly isolated in its hawkish stance on Iraq, but it is too late to change course, writes Ayman El-Amir

Treading water
France this week joined Russia and Germany in calling for a reinforcement of UN weapons inspectors in Iraq and vetoing proposals to send NATO reinforcements to Turkey, writes David Tresilian from Paris

Every nation for itself
Faced with impending war across the border, Turkey has no choice but to align itself with the US, writes Gareth Jenkins from Istanbul

Hopes and fears
Amid growing signs of war in Iraq, the Turkish capital played host this week to a meeting of Turkish and US officials with several Iraqi opposition leaders. James Martone , in Ankara, listened to the Iraqi leaders express hopes and fears concerning the future of their country

Over a barrel
Africa begs to differ with Washington over Iraq, Gamal Nkrumah writes

Caught red-handed
A scandal over the sources of a British government dossier on Iraq is more than an embarrassment, it's a disturbing look into the British intelligence apparatus

Backdoor friendship
When push comes to shove, will India stand by Iraq? In Delhi, Saba Naqvi Bhaumik reads between the lines

Under wraps
A flurry of recent reports on the impact of a war in Iraq are building the case for an impending humanitarian disaster, writes Nyier Abdou

The war no one wants
In an interview with Ibrahim Nafie , US Secretary of State Colin Powell unpacks the argument for war in Iraq and shrugs off the imperialist label

Between Saddam and a hard place
Can the Iraqi opposition run a post-Saddam Iraq? asks Omayma Abdel-Latif

Untying the knot
THE FIRST Iraqi opposition conference held on Iraqi soil was in the city of Salahuddin, in northern Iraq, at the end of October 1992...

On record:
Sleeping splendour
On my last night in Baghdad, I attended a peace concert put on by the chamber group of the Baghdad Symphony Orchestra...