Navigating the roadmap
Any cul de sac will, argues Ibrahim Nafie, be of Israeli making

The essential agenda
Democratisation and Iraq: Osama El-Ghazali Harb argues that the linkages are inevitable

The future of the Arab League
Can the Arab League survive its present crisis, asks Mohamed Sid-Ahmed

Understanding the world
Abdel-Moneim Said argues, in the second instalment of an ongoing series of articles, that Saddam Hussein's ability to stay in power for over 35 years has its foundations in a far deeper Arab malaise

The road to Washington
Will the Arabs ever have a voice in US foreign affairs? Azmi Bishara contemplates the question of Arab lobbying

The coming of age
How should we go about reform, now that it is a foreign as well as a domestic demand? Mustafa El-Feki says the Arabs need to ditch authoritarianism

Subverting 'the Arab street'
Can 'the Arab street' be cleansed of the Palestinian cause? Joseph Massad replies to Arab neo-liberals

Master blaster: a case for liberation
John V Whitbeck has an original take on the extremely close relationship between the US and Israel

This week: COLIN POWELL

Editorial:
Time bomb
The suicide attacks on foreign housing compounds on Monday night have claimed the lives of an estimated 40 people, including seven US citizens and nine suicide bombers...

Reflections
Conspiracy theory
"Where is Saddam?" my taxi driver asked in belligerent tones a couple of days after the fall of Baghdad...
By Hani Shukrallah

Close up
Meeting the American dove
Israel has neither accepted the roadmap, nor turned it down. What is most important is for negotiations to start between the Palestinians and Israelis...
By Salama A Salama

Soapbox
Sorting out Palestine
The US-UK occupation of Iraq will have a long-lasting effect on the region, particularly as far as Palestine is concerned...
By Diaa Rashwan

Redemption
Talk of the roadmap as an answer to the Palestinian issue coincides with the shockwaves produced by the war on Iraq. Many therefore doubt Washington's motives for reintroducing the plan long after it had been frozen, having been accepted by the Palestinians and rejected by Israel...
By Naguib Mahfouz