Dec. 3, 2008 Steven Emerson: Yes, the terrorists are winning Don Terry: Lifetime, no see Dec. 2, 2008 Melanie Phillips: The Mumbai atrocity is a wake-up call for a frighteningly unprepared world Stratfor Geopolitical Intelligence Report: Strategic Motivations for the Mumbai Attack Dec. 1, 2008 Max Freidlander, as told to Jacklyn C. Wadler: India Inkings Mark Steyn: Whodunit!? Nov. 28, 2008 Rabbi Ahron Rapps: An evil seed that didn't have to be Melanie Phillips: Carpe diem --- or can we all relax now? Nov. 26, 2008 Michael Feldberg: Meet the Orthodox Jew who laid groundwork for scientific development of ordnance that undergirds America's current world leadership Andrea Simantov: Shades of life Nov. 25, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Getting Emotional For Influence The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman : Thanksiving feast! Nov. 24, 2008 Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg: 'I just Became a grandchild!' Barry Rubin: Don't flatter your enemies, protect your friends Nov. 21, 2008 Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Money matters? Caroline B. Glick: Civilization walks the plank Nov. 20, 2008 Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bronfman's blindness The Kosher Gourmet By Linda Gassenheimer: Portobellos add a hearty flavor to pasta with pesto Nov, 19, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Spread the wealth? Jewish tradition and income equality Elliot B. Gertel: 'Mad Men': Tackling prejudices or reinforcing them? Nov, 18, 2008 Dr. Debby Schwarz Hirschhorn: The End of the Age of Reason Jonathan Tobin: Does Barack + Bibi = Disaster? Nov, 17, 2008 Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The End of the Age of Reason Diana West: Gulling Americans into making terror legit? Nov, 14, 2008 Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: The Power of Spiritual Inertia Caroline B. Glick: The perils ahead Nov, 13, 2008 Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: How Bush and Obama together could change the Middle East dynamic The Kosher Gourmet by JeanMarie Brownson: Sweet and savory, crispy and meltingly tender bestilla Nov, 12, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Tyrannical Co-Workers Michael Doyle: High Court to consider today donated monuments that may have religious messages in public parks Nov, 11, 2008 Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Will Obama stop government officials considering institutionalizing financial jihad? Jonathan Tobin: They Will Decide Their Own Fate Nov, 10, 2008 Rabbi Avi Shafran: $8 billion, modern-day Tower of Babel being built? Barry Rubin: A letter to the president-elect from a Middle East realist Nov, 7, 2008 Rabbi Francis Nataf: Of Children and Immortality Caroline B. Glick: Livni's Obama strategy Nov, 6, 2008 Rabbi Yonason Goldson: How I tricked a classroom of apathetic students into grasping the fallacy of moral relativism The Kosher Gourmet By Gina Kim: Tips for making the perfect soup --- includes recipes Nov, 5, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Destitute Debtors Bruce Weinstein: 'Religulos': Bad title,even worse movie Nov, 4, 2008 Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Treasury Dept. submits to Shariah law Frida Ghitis: A surprise for Obama in the Middle East Nov, 3, 2008 Jonathan Rosenblum: Who says Jews are Smart? Jonathan Tobin: Was He Wrong About Everything? March 22, 2007 J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !) Oct. 29, 2003 Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Dec 31, 2007 22 Teves 5768 The democracy delusion By Michael Goodwin http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | No sooner was Benazir Bhutto declared dead last week than the echo machine of American politics kicked into high gear. The White House, Congress and virtually everybody on the presidential campaign trail all repeated the same sentiment: Her tragic death must not derail Pakistan's commitment to democracy. There are two possible explanations for this bipartisan chorus: Either democracy really is the answer to what ails Pakistan, or no leading voice in either party has the courage to utter the politically incorrect truth. Namely, that, for now, a freely elected government in Pakistan may not be in the best interests of the United States. Consider that a recent poll there found that Osama Bin Laden is more popular than President Pervez Musharraf. That's not exactly fertile ground for the flowering of American idealism that lays behind the reflexive calls for one man, one vote. Free elections demanded by Washington brought Hamas into the Palestinian government and the notion that democracy is a cure-all is proven wrong every time Lebanese voters go to the polls and award Hezbollah more seats. To judge from Thursday's simplistic reactions, we haven't learned our lesson yet. We better get it right in Pakistan, whose military might makes the situation infinitely more dangerous. Because of its nuclear weapons and a powerful conventional army, the most important thing for regional and American security is keeping that arsenal out of the wrong hands. Musharraf, for all his failings, has managed to do that so far. We forget that success at our peril. From the American perspective, the overarching problem is not that Musharraf has ruled with an iron fist. His wrong-headed crackdown on dissent in the last few months notwithstanding, the real problem is that he used the velvet glove in dealing with Bin Laden and Al Qaeda types hiding along the Afghanistan border and with those who have infiltrated the military. His reasons are telling. Major moves against Islamic extremists are unpopular domestically and he risked widespread unrest merely by talking about them. Musharraf himself has escaped several assassination attempts by terror groups. Bhutto, too, played a coy game with the worst of the worst during her two stints as prime minister. She claimed, for example, not to know that a top scientist in Pakistan was selling nuclear technology to North Korea and Libya, yet there were accusations she herself took part in some dealings with North Korea. And she was an early and avid supporter of the Taliban, seeing the fundamentalist group as good for Afghanistan. We know from 9/11 how that worked out. It is understandable that American politicians would ignore that history in the immediate aftermath of Bhutto's death. And there is no doubt that an anti-democratic group, whether Islamist or not, is behind her murder and the chaos knocking on Pakistan's door. Yet what is surprising is that nearly everyone who wants to succeed President Bush has latched on to his democracy answer as the cure for terrorism. His approach was best summed up by Secretary of State Rice, who, speaking in Egypt in 2005, articulated the ideal. Said she: "For 60 years, my country, the U.S., pursued stability at the expense of democracy in this region here in the Middle East and we achieved neither. Now we are taking a different course. We are supporting the democratic aspirations of all people." It's an inspiring idea, but a poor substitute for a precise foreign policy based on facts. Its one-size-fits-all philosophy has always sounded suspiciously like a liberal response to crime: more welfare, fewer cops. Most important, democracy-as-the answer confuses Islamic terrorists with standard political movements. As these radicals have made bloody clear across the globe, they are not interested in sharing power. They don't want a seat at the table in a pluralistic society. They want the whole table and they want absolute obedience to Islamic law, as they interpret it. It's bad enough they are creating havoc as insurgent groups in numerous countries. It would be far, far worse if they controlled the one Muslim nation that knows how to make a mushroom cloud. Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and the media consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. Michael Goodwin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the New York Daily News. Comment by clicking here. Archives © 2007 NY Daily News