10 - 16 April 2003 (Issue No. 633)

(De)liberation
The paradise promised in Iraq has been lost, writes Sinan Antoon
Update 13 April 13:00GMT

The writing on the wall
Ayman El-Amir examines the implications of the US's victory over Saddam Hussein

Comment: Day of the chicken hawks
By Hani Shukrallah

The battle for Baghdad
As US troops advanced, paused, then resumed their advance, analysts have been reassessing their expectations. Galal Nassar reviews the war's ever-changing course

In the shadows
Recently home to an extensive crisis of internal displacement, the towns of southeastern Turkey are full of Kurdish families stuck in limbo. With the uncertainty of war at their doorstep, people are poised for another blow, writes Nyier Abdou in Diyarbakir

Sketching Iraq
The time has come for me to take out my sketchbook of Iraq. It may be a sad time to do so, but it is undoubtedly time...
By George Bahgory

Pride and prejudice?
The Kuwaiti campaign against Amr Moussa is off -- for now. Dina Ezzat reports on a peculiar tug of war

Out of the White House Loop
Northern Ireland would appear to be a curious backdrop indeed for a war summit between George W Bush and Tony Blair -- the third such meeting in as many weeks. Alexander Alistair writes from Belfast

How to run Iraq
The US and Britain believe the major challenge now is running an occupied country in a volatile region. Khaled Dawoud reports from Washington

And now for Mr Hyde
David Hirst , in Riyadh, finds Saudis intensely worried that their erstwhile mighty protector, the US, is looking more and more as a grave threat

Arab anger
Four weeks into the Anglo-American invasion, the Arab street is expressing its anger over the war. Sherine Bahaa examines the regional response

Whose Iraq?
Iraq's opposition groups are becoming increasingly sceptical about the US's true intentions in Iraq. Omayma Abdel-Latif gauges reactions

Humanitarian hell
Relief agencies are warning that the overall humanitarian situation in Iraq is getting gloomier. Rasha Saad reports

Strength in numbers
The Iraqi Shi'a majority's claims to equal political rights may well prove to be a cohesive factor in the chaos that will face post-war Iraq. Sayed Ali Al-Ridha writes

If the opportunity arises
Since war on Iraq began, the shift in British opinion appears to be dramatic. Alexander Alistair reports from London

The lesser of three evils?
The Turkish government has unexpectedly decided to launch a regional axis with Iran and Syria. Gareth Jenkins argues that the Turkish army will ensure that the initiative remains stillborn

The more you watch, the less you know
Amina Elbendary reviews the war in the Arab press

War in the Egyptian press
Highlights of the Egyptian press this week included Iraqi civilian casualties, a visit by the British ambassador to Al-Akhbar, and calls for reviewing the 'strategic' ties between Egypt and the US, writes Aziza Sami

Week's events
US forces were approximately 32 kilometres outside Baghdad early Thursday, after shattering two divisions of the Republican Guard, US officials said...

3 - 9 April 2003 (Issue No. 632)

Fuel and force
The prospect of a protracted armed struggle heralds the worst scenario for allied troops in Iraq, writes Galal Nassar
...and the war machine

In this time of war
As the US-UK invasion of Iraq enters its third week, relief organisations are expecting a growing humanitarian disaster in the war-torn country, reports Rasha Saad

Sovereignty for food
The new oil-for-food programme is a warning sign to many that the UN is bypassing the Iraqi regime, writes Soha Abdelaty

Legal assault
The manipulations of international law in the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq make an interesting case-study. They could also pave the way for future war-crimes prosecution, writes Aziza Sami

The best of friends?
The British seem to be falling out with the Americans over friendly fire incidents and apportioning the spoils of war, reports Alistair Alexander from London

'President of the Maghreb'
French President Jacques Chirac's opposition to the US-led war on Iraq has enhanced his personal popularity and international standing, particularly among young people and French citizens of Arab origin, writes David Tresilian in Paris

A different perspective
Samia Nkrumah in Rome looks at an alternative peace media project

Defeat after occupation?
The real American defeat will come after the United States occupies Iraq, opines Mohamed Hakki in Washington

Of terror and defiance
Shamel Darwish in Baghdad experiences first-hand the devastating effects of the war and visits Al-Rashidiya camp on the Jordanian border

'The chick was in the way'
The Bush administration is now admitting that the Iraq war will be far longer and more drawn out than they had at first envisaged, reports Khaled Dawoud from Washington

Resisting occupation
In an exclusive interview with Al-Ahram Weekly from Tehran, Sayed Mohamed Baqer Al-Hakim, head of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq spoke to Omayma Abdel-Latif about his views on the US-led war on Iraq and its consequences

Democracy by B-52
What will the Arab world look like when the smoke clears in the aftermath of the US aggression on Iraq, Dina Ezzat asks

Hand on the trigger
With troops amassed on the Iraqi border, the smallest spark could rekindle Turkey's slow-burning Kurdish question, reports Nyier Abdou in Silopi

Over a barrel
International oil markets are reflecting the general uncertainty over the course of the war in Iraq, write Walid Khadduri and Gerald Butt

Human shields
What motivates people to risk their life and become a human shield? Gamal Nkrumah examines whether the presence of human shields in Iraq makes a difference

Killing, kidnap, fear and dangers
Despite its unprecedented character, the Arab press is covering the US-led invasion of Iraq and Iraqi resistance to it in a sober manner, reports Amina Elbendary

The war in the Egyptian press
Aziza Sami looks at the US-led war against Iraq through the pages of Egypt's press

Smokescreens
Sinan Antoon watches Iraq's satellite channel

Shockingly awful
Arab viewers are becoming increasingly disturbed by media reports of atrocities inflicted on civilians during the US-led war on Iraq as well as at double standards in western reporting, writes Omayma Abdel-Latif

27 March - 2 April 2003 (Issue No. 631)

Flicker in the fog
Galal Nassar reviews the military situation one week after the allied aggression against Iraq
...and the war machine

What went wrong?
US officials at the Pentagon are having a hard time explaining why the war against Iraq has not been a piece of cake so far, Khaled Dawoud reports from Washington

An open condemnation
It has been a few decades since the last time Arabs openly condemned the US. Dina Ezzat reports on the recent Arab Foreign Ministers Meeting

Solitary Kuwait
By publicly supporting and offering unprecedented facilities to the US-led attack against Iraq, Kuwait has landed itself in an unenviableposition. Dina Ezzat reports

How to win the war, and lose the peace
The US administration is set to make itself even more deeply unpopular over its plans for post-war Iraq, writes Mohamed Hakki from Washington

Bracing for the worst
The Iraqi opposition in exile may have been manipulating the expectations of their US patrons, Iraqi analysts told Omayma Abdel-Latif

It is yet to be seen
Aziza Sami looks at the coverage of the war in the Arab press

Blair's Waterloo?
Blair is only one stray bomb away from regime change himself, writes Alistair Alexander from London

Waiting for the refugees
The expected influx of Iraqi refugees fleeing the war hasn't happened -- yet. But, as Rasha Saad reports, UNHCR is preparing for a worst-case scenario

France to resist US plans for Iraq
Having failed to prevent a US-led war on Iraq, France now aims to influence the shape of the post-war settlement, writes David Tresilian in Paris

Pressing on with the protests
With hopes of a lightning allied victory over Iraq dashed by the surprise spirited Iraqi resistance, peace activists around the world are upbeat about the global anti-war campaign, writes Gamal Nkrumah

Arabs show their rage
Outrage over the US-British war on Iraq has spilled onto Arab streets. Sherine Bahaa reports

Cold Turkey over Iraq
The US has begun to close bases in Turkey and abandon its plans to open a second front against Baghdad amid growing fears of a possible clash between US and Turkish forces in northern Iraq. Gareth Jenkins reports from Istanbul