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Editorial Questions and answers October 26th, 2005 -- The preliminary report issued by Detlev Mehlis’ commission of investigation into the death of Lebanon’s erstwhile prime minister, Rafiq al-Hariri, and 22 other people in Beirut on 14 February posits more questions than answers, on both the events surrounding the killing itself and the wider repercussions of the affair.  Hopeless in Gaza September 29th, 2005 -- Few should have been in any doubt about the implications of Israel’s much-vaunted “disengagement” from the Gaza Strip. The settlers have gone, certainly, although a number of the issues surrounding the resources and facilities they left behind remain to be settled. The Israeli army has gone, too, in a sense. It is no longer stationed in installations inside the territory itself. But it is not far away. Mubarak's day of reckoning September 15th, 2005 -- Some people voted more than once. Some complained of harassment and intimidation. Others were unable to vote at all. There was little in the way of monitoring. The incumbent won with a gigantic share of the popular vote, by a margin which would be utterly inconceivable in an election in a developed country. Sharon pulls it off September 2nd, 2005 -- It all went according to plan, and on schedule (albeit slightly deferred) to boot. On 23 August Israel completed the evacuation of its settlers from the Gaza Strip and a few small communities in the north of the West Bank. Settler resistance was minimal, a massive anti-climax, in fact, after all the speculation of recent months. The world’s media recorded the event in terms of a great personal success for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Of democracy and double standards August 3rd, 2005 -- Surprise visits seem to be the stuff of American diplomacy in the Middle East these days. First, the American secretary of state paid an unscheduled call on Israeli, Palestinian and Lebanese leaders on 22-24 July. Then her counterpart at the Department of Defence showed up in Baghdad on the 27th. Of good and evil July 21st, 2005 -- The language of good and evil has proved one of the most persistent weapons in the “war against terror”. The “axis of evil”, “the evildoers”, the “evil ideology”. If for many the atrocities of 7 July throw up nothing but questions, there are those who appear ready to provide all the answers. Business as usual July 7th, 2005 -- Six months into the second term of the Bush Administration, interpretations differ as to its broader foreign policy objectives and the likelihood of it attaining them. Learning from Iran's election June 23rd, 2005 -- As a spectator sport, politics usually only really comes into its own at election time. For those who cannot fail to be fascinated by the choices people make and who are thrilled by the unravelling of the outcome, the combination of politics and intricate mathematics as results become known makes for serious entertainment. Nowadays, the whole experience is very much enhanced by the electronic media and that most infuriating facet of the modern election campaign, the opinion polls. Share this page:
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