Checking in from West Point Posted by Lorelei Kelly

Just checking in....I have been travelling for weeks--it seems--two weeks in New Orleans, then New Mexico and now upstate New York.  I am at West Point--the US Military  Academy--until Friday and will have lots to  write about when I'm back in DC.

Between now and 08, I'll be working with others on a project that aims to help restore what I call the civil military "safety net".  After working on Capitol Hill after 9/11 and seeing the failure of Congress to put the brakes on the President in matters of war and peace--our aim is to educate ourselves and the American public so that can"t happen again.

I travel with a five month old---who is deprogramming as i type---and i'm borrowing the concierge's computer here at the Thayer hotel on campus...so until later....

Designer Jihad Posted by Zvika Krieger

In the Palestinian territories, civil wars are fought with guns. In Iraq, civil wars are fought with bombs. In Lebanon, civil wars are fought with...graphic design?

Soon after Hizballah began its recent altercation with the governing March 14 coalition in Lebanon, bright red billboards appeared across the country with the words "I Love Life" (in English, Arabic, and French). On streets. At the airport. In malls. At protests. On bumpers. The slick red signs were everywhere. The "I Love Life" campaign, which is sponsored by March 14 supporters, is attempting to capture the frustration of average Lebanese people that are sick of their country being racked by war -- both externally, as in the war with Israel, and internally, as in  the sectarian fighting that has lasted for decades. They just want to live normal lives -- such as not have their favorite shopping arcade in downtown Beirut shut down by endless Hizballah sit-ins. And perhaps more pointedly, the implication of the campaign is that opponents to March 14 (cough, cough, Hizballah) do not love life (which, to be fair, may be true for groups that glorify martyrdom and drag innocent civilians into unnecessary wars with Israel). 

But remember, this is war, so the opposition can't just let March 14 rub their love of life in Hizballah's face. So this week has brought the appearance of a counter ad campaign, parodying the "I Love Life" billboards by adding the words "In Multicolor," "In Dignity," or "For Everyone" scribbled on the bottom. The implication is that the ruling March 14 coalition, while having led the campaign to kick Syria out in 2005 and restore Lebanese independence, is also a sectarian movement that excludes the Shi'a. I have to say that it's a pretty creative way to counter the simplistic message of the "I Love Life" campaign with a message that really makes you think. Yes, Hizballah has created a state-within-a-state in southern Lebanon. Yes, it is the only militia in Lebanon that remains armed. Yes, it is a proxy for Iranian and Syrian interests in Lebanon. But it also has some pretty legitimate complaints. Beneath all the bombastic labels of "terrorists" and "Islamo-fascists," it's important to remember that Hizballah represents a disenfranchised Shi'a majority in Lebanon that has been historically dominated by a Christian presidency and then a Sunni premiership.  The only durable solution to the current political deadlock in Lebanon will have to address this underlying power imbalance between Lebanon's sects.

So kudos to "the opposition" for such a creative comeback and kudos to both sides for reminding us that not every civil war in the Middle East has to be fought with guns and bombs.

(Photos after the jump)

Zvika Krieger Guest-Blogging Posted by Shadi Hamid

I´d like to belatedly welcome Zvika Krieger to Democracy Arsenal. As you may have already gathered, he's guest blogging with us from his fascinating perch in Sri Lanka and Beirut. By way of introduction, Zvika is a writer based in the Middle East who has written for Newsweek, The New Republic, and other publications and has appeared on CNN, Fox News, and NBC News. He has received research fellowships to study the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, the Kifaya reform movement in Egypt, public health in Bombay slums, religious identity in Kashmir, historical memory in Palestinian refugee camps, and the role of religion in Lebanese politics. In other words, this guy has a thing for hot spots. Make sure to check out some of his recent articles, here and here.

Liza Juliet Posted by David Shorr

Whenever a new baby joins us on this floating sphere, we hope the world he or she comes to know is a peaceful one. Many here take a professional interest in world peace, so maybe we can give the vision a little more definite shape.

Things aren't looking so great these days, but we're all familiar with international problems and situations that somehow worked out better instead of worse. So without quibbling over odds, causal factors, or dissimilarities, these are some precedents for which we hope, for the sake of Suzanne and David's new little girl, history repeats itself. Of course history doesn't repeat itself, but it's good to remember that its downward spirals sometimes turn around. So for little Liza Juliet, we hope some of today's problems come out like some of yesterday's...

India after the Millenium Posted by Michael Signer

First, I want to thank Jordan Tama for doing such a crackerjack job guest-blogging while I was gone.

I just returned from a 3-week trip to India and have some thoughts on this fascinating nation that, while they're not on the Iraq surge or Nancy Pelosi, might interest some of you.  And I offer these thoughts healthily aware that you flirt with cliche anytime you try and offer insights about a country that thousands of travel-writers, editorialists, and general India-philes.

I found two things about the country most interesting, especially when thinking about India from the economic-powerhouse, largest-secular-democracy-in-the-world perspective. 

Losing Hope: The 9 Best Songs of 2006 Posted by Shadi Hamid

I wanted to belatedly wish everyone a happy new year. See if you can muster any optimism for the world that we have lost and the world that the Bush administration seems intent on losing for yet another year. In the immortal words of Coldplay, we live in a beautiful world, yea we do, yea we do.

I know this is a cliche, but it really is music that keeps us alive, that allows us to relate to a world which sometimes makes little, if any sense. The private is not necessarily separate from the political, as the misunderstandings, malice, loss, and longing which define the shattered hopes of a world losing its way, are the same kind of loss and longing that animate our own imperfect relationships with those whom we love - friends, family, wives, husbands, lovers. There is an inevitable gap between what is, what could be, and what shall never be. Jumping off that admittedly vague pseudo-philosophical point (perhaps inspired by my recent viewing of Babel), I now turn to nominate the 9 best songs of 2006, the songs which captured the zeitgeist of not only my own life, but of a world that seemed to me to crumble before my very eyes, defying the hopes and possibilities which 2005, however gingerly, seemed to offer:

1. Muse, "Starlight"
2. Editors, "Bullets"
3. Keane, "Atlantic"
4. The Kooks, "Seaside"
5. Thom Yorke, "Harrowdown Hill"
6. Keane, "A Bad Dream"
7. Band of Horses, "The Funeral"
8. The Vines, "Spaceship"
9. Kasabian, "Empire"

And then for # 10, I guess I could include Radiohead's "Optimistic," which deserves to be on a top 10 list no matter what year (it was originally released in 2000).

How Trade Strengthens U.S. Security Posted by Jordan Tama

As Congress wrapped up its work this month, it passed important measures to normalize trade ties with Vietnam and renew low tariffs for Andean and African countries. Additional trade pacts with Peru, Colombia, and Panama will be voted on by the Democratic-led Congress next year. These votes are likely to be contentious. Many new members of Congress argue that trade agreements spur the loss of American jobs, and some new members call for renegotiating existing pacts, such as NAFTA.

The public debate on trade usually centers on its economic costs and benefits. I happen to believe the benefits outweigh the costs, but that the costs are real and should be mitigated by expanded assistance programs for Americans who lose their jobs when companies move overseas.

Here I want to focus on a different aspect of trade policy: its impact on other U.S. foreign policy interests. While reasonable people can disagree about the relative weight of the economic gains and losses induced by trade, I think the political and security benefits of reducing trade barriers are undeniable (though often underestimated). If we take them into account, the case for opening markets becomes much stronger. Consider the following:

1) Trade can provide an economic engine for foreign policy leadership. Trade accelerates U.S. economic growth, producing positive foreign policy spillover effects. Growth increases our tax base, making it easier to fund foreign affairs and defense programs. It also helps us maintain our technological edge, which is central to our military strength. A stagnant or shrinking economy would likely lead to a smaller U.S. presence abroad and diminished American influence internationally.

2) Trade can foster political and security cooperation. We need help from other countries in the Iraq war, in the broader struggle against violent jihadism, and on other security priorities. But nations that don't have direct interests at stake in those issues will only help us if we help them on issues they consider important, like greater access to our huge market. If we reduce our import barriers, they'll be more likely to back us on security matters.

Why should we care whether poor countries support our policies on Iraq, Iran, or counterterrorism? Because they have votes in international bodies like the UN and their backing can make our policies more legitimate internationally.

Giving back to the planet Posted by Jordan Tama

Adding to Heather's excellent suggestions, another way to do good during the holidays is to make a green investment that offsets your annual energy use. Carbonfund.org provides a good overview of the benefits of going "carbon neutral," and a New York Times article explains some of the ways to do it. One option is to invest in planting trees through The Conservation Fund. Another way is to invest in renewable energy projects, as TerraPass does. You'll be surprised at how inexpensively you can compensate for your greenhouse gas pollution.

Since it can take many years for investments in trees or clean energy projects to bear fruit, reducing energy use is still essential to prevent climate change in the near future. So we should all follow Heather's lead and buy a hybrid next time we're in the market for a car.

Bring a Smile to Your Face Posted by Heather Hurlburt

Just for a second, forget the President's end-of-the-year news conference and all the other awfulness, and let me suggest a few foreign policy-related things do can do to bring a holiday smile to your face, after you've followed Shadi's suggestion for watching The Devil Wears Prada and pondering the seductions of power:

1.  Go drive a (US-built) hybrid car.  We acquired a hybrid Saturn VUE last week, and I have to confess that I'm getting a lot more psychic benefit from driving it than I ever expected (which almost makes up for my preference for a zippy little standard transmission sedan).  "Up yours, Ahmedinajad," I mutter whenever the little green "ECO" light comes on.  "Take that, Ted Stevens.  Who needs your drilling in ANWAR?"  And I'm also sending a message to my Big Three auto-exec neighbors here in southeast Michigan.  Build some more of these things, darn it -- how about a sedan, or even a station wagon?  Give my other neighbors the autoworkers some work, compete with the Japanese hybrids AND help us climb out of the oil mess.

2.  Give some money to a cause that works.  If you need more encouragement, read Peter Singer's article about how little each of the top 10 percent of US income-earners would need to give to meet the Millennium Development Goals, for example.  If you have kids, or remember the Del Fuegos fondly, or want to see Walter Cronkite hug a sheep, check out the Heifer Project's holiday site. Feel good about your fellow human beings, and lessen the pain of what your tax dollars are being wasted on.

My promised update: 

A kid named Akash Mehta is raising money to help open a girls' school in Herat, Afghanistan.  You can read about him and help him out here.  Akash has already gotten his first challenge grant, from the Unemployed Philosphers Guild, the entrepreneurs who brought you Bush National Security Team puppets, "Freudian Slip" message pads and other novelties you may not be able to do without.  Why is Akash doing this?

The first time I thought of this was when I was sitting in the kitchen trying to help my mom wash dishes. But I found that I wasn't good at dishwashing. So I sat down and asked my mom what use kids were to the world. She told me that we were learning how to be good, and we can help the world when we grow up. Plus, when we are kids we make joy for grownups. But I said I want to do something now that makes the world a better place, and I am too young to do that.

Even if I am only 8 years old, I am thinking about how lucky I am to be rich compared to these kids. You might think that these are disturbing thoughts for a young child and I sort of agree, but the only way that disturbing thoughts can go away from children's minds is if you help.   Once a few people do this, children's disturbing thoughts can be replaced by thoughts of how the world is slowly becoming a better place and how one day is better than the last.

Shoot, send this kid some money.

Also, one thing NOT to do is to give your old clothes to one of those places (including the oh-so convenient drop boxes) that promise to send them to Africa.  Why?  Most end up re-sold by entrepreneurs for profit, and drive the local fabric and garment industries out of business, because who can compete when the raw material is free?  ABC News has a report on this, but don't let it drive you to frustrated despair.  Sell or give your old clothes to a thrift shop or find someplace that recycles them, then take the tax break and send that to a group working to empower folks in poor countries.

You Knew it Was Coming... Posted by Shadi Hamid

Spencer Ackerman's blog redesign will no doubt put a smile upon your faces.