It would be interesting to elicit views on the Bush Administration's two-track approach to nuclear proliferation -- its sturdy promotion of selling nuclear technology to India -- notwithstanding critics in Congress and elsewhere -- and its escalating bellicosity toward Iran over Tehran's nuclear ambitions. There are striking similarities in the positions that both India and Iran have taken. Both insist that their nuclear plans are focused on meeting civilian needs. India's population of 1....

This is a beautifully produced book. Annie Leibovitz's humanity and humaneness comes through powerfully. The introductory text is heart wrenching, especially when she describes aspects of her relationship with the late Susan Sontag. "A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005" is a magnificent documentary of a life of rich accomplishment.

I have been a longtime fan of the writings of James Traub, so my view of his books is obviously somewhat biased. Nevertheless, I was astonished by the depth of his reporting about the United Nations and Kofi Annan. In view of the immense access that the U.N.'s outgoing secretary general gave him, Traub would have been surely tempted to write a hagiography. But he shows himself to be the consummate professional. This book is as much about Annan's setbacks and mistakes as it is about his triump...

To those of us who’ve followed Frank Rich’s political essays and postings, the election results offered further evidence of his acuity. Frank has been spot on. It would be a disservice to term him the “Karl Rove” of the Left (or the media). But if the moniker could be considered benign, then I would certainly apply it to Frank — that is to say, Frank’s reading of the culture has been at least as sharp as that of Rove’s during the latter’s early reign as President Bush’s guru-in-residence. ...

The following came today (November 2, 2006) from the Institute of International Education in New York: The Council of Graduate Schools has just released the findings of its Fall 2006 enrollment survey, and we wanted to put it into context with the upcoming (November 13) release of Institute of International Education's Open Doors report on 2005/06 enrollments and our Fall 2006 enrollment survey to be released on November 13 as well. The CGS survey shows that total foreign student enrol...

Kavita Khanna is a sparkling new voice in fiction. This book is almost lyrical. It captures your attention from the get-go, and sustains it. The writing is well paced, and the characters seem very real indeed. I was delighted to come across this book, and I look forward to other works by Ms. Khanna.

Martin Tolchin capped a 40-year career at The New York Times, where he reported on Congress and politics, by becoming founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of The Hill newspaper. He's now launching a new newspaper in Washington, "The Capitol Leader." His wife Susan is professor of public policy at George Mason University, and a well-known lecturer and media commentator. They have just come out with their ninth book, "A World Ignited: How Apostles of Ethnic, Religious and Racial Hatred To...

Response to questions from Arabies Trends (Dubai) By Pranay Gupte Arabies Trends: When you landed in Dubai, did you ever imagine it would be over in all of 13 days? What was going through your mind? Pranay Gupte: I had long been intrigued by Dubai and its development under the leadership of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. As a journalist who's covered and monitored the Middle East for more than three decades, I would be hard pressed to name another leader who's demonstrated th...

Singapore: The Charade Of Meritocracy October 2006 By Michael D. Barr The legitimacy of the Singaporean government is predicated on the idea of a meritocratic technocracy. A tiny number of career civil servants play a leading role in setting policy within their ministries and other government-linked bureaucracies, leading both an elite corps of senior bureaucrats, and a much larger group of ordinary civil servants. Virtually all of the elite members of this hierarchy are "scholars,"...

I've been reading the manuscript of Anwer Sher's forthcoming "The Jagged Crescent of Islam" -- and I've found it so fascinating that I thought I should alert readers. The book contains heretofore unpublished details of meetings between then Crown Prince Abdullah and Osama bin Laden, and other accounts that shed light on how Gulf and other Arab societies are being riven by competing strains of Islam, the issue of good governance and transparency, and questions pertaining to the future of...

I returned to New York yesterday afternoon (Thursday, October 12, 2006) from Dubai, where I spent 13 days that could be best described as rather bizarre. I'd gone there to be executive editor/business of Khaleej Times, one of the best-known English-language newspapers in the Middle East. Founded 28 years ago in Dubai (one of the seven of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates), the paper's editorial quality had deteriorated dramatically on account of poor leadership and scandalous treatment of ...

R. W. Apple, Jr.: An Appreciation By Pranay Gupte He was always Johnny, Johnny Apple. The byline read "R. W. Apple, Jr." -- for Raymond Walter Apple, Jr. -- but no one called him that. He was always Johnny Apple -- larger than life, a giant of the game of international journalism, the last of that generation of correspondents who were equally at ease in Dubai and Dakar, in the salons of Washington and the chancelleries of Europe, in the jungles of Africa and the sands of the Middle ...

Dubai Govt Takes 30% Stake In Galadari Bros - Sources By Simeon Kerr and Sarmad Khan OF DOW JONES NEWSWIRES · DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--The Dubai government has taken a 30% stake in one of Dubai's oldest family-owned conglomerates, Galadari Brothers Co., according to a document seen by Zawya Dow Jones. A memo dated Oct. 5 says that a decree from a judicial court appointed by Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has restructured the shareholding of Galadari Group...

I write this informally as a longstanding member of the Council on Foreign Relations. The Council's "selected members only" event this week featuring President Ahmadinejad has clearly generated a controversy that, at the very least, will last for a while. I wasn't invited to the event, although I would have loved to have been there in view of my familiarity and writings about Iran since the Shah's time and into the present. Here are some thoughts about the "event": 1. I think CFR president...

Having just returned to New York after more than two weeks in Australia and the Gulf, I felt I should relay to two things. One, the obvious: the widespread and growing antagonism toward the American adventure in the Middle East. But it's my second observation that disturbs me most: The widespread and growing dislike of all things American on account of Washington's global approach. Even in Australia, long considered a reliable ally, the coalition government of Prime Minister John Howard, a...