The assumption underlying the question does not add up. Washington announced that it was expanding the missile shield defense system but Putin's reactions make him the dangerous part of the equation?

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Talk of an American war against Iran has provoked anxiety and uncertainty here in the Arab world, especially in the Gulf Region, Jordan, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. People are still reeling from the effects of the continuing war in Iraq and the lack of resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

While it is true that in some quarters there is fear and resentment – especially in some regional governments - there is more anxiety the possibility of about another war.

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I disagree with David's basic assumption that America's intervention aims at fostering democracy in Pakistan. But I do agree with his conclusion that America should take its hands off Pakistan. It is sad that both Musharraf and Mrs. Benazir Bhutto are still trying to prove, each in his /her own way, that he/she can best serve America's interests.

The true heroes of democracy are the lawyers who have braved the army and police brutality to protest the imposed martial law. These lawyers -- unlike most Pakistani leaders vying for power -- did not ask or care about America's permission. They are true nationalists and defenders of the rule of law. They are an inspiration to independent forces for democracy and progress everywhere.

But I doubt that the U.S. will get the message and allow Pakistan and its own people to forge a better future. It is evident from U.S. envoy John Negroponte's visit to Pakistan that Washington sees Musharraf's loss of control as a severe blow to U.S. interests.

If Washington decides to drop Musharraf and endorse Bhutto, instead of supporting power-sharing between the two leaders, it will still not bode well for Pakistan. It is time for Washington to stop trying to control the political process by supporting leaders only if they adhere to its destructive policies.

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From Kenya to Iraq, the prevalence of tribalism is a symptom of the destruction of modern state structures, weakened or absent democratic institutions, and manipulation by local and external forces.

The destruction of the modern state in Iraq, after years of a punitive blockade and an American invasion and occupation, has propelled tribalism as substitute for a coherent state. It is true that the executed President Saddam Hussein did use tribalism as an instrument, but both the British in the South and the Americans in the center of Iraq have also pursued the old colonial strategy of creating tribal clientele for the occupation.

In Kenya, where tribalism is deeply rooted and was not diminished by the modern state, disillusionment with elections fraud and with Mwai Kibaki (a man who promoted himself as the people's champion) have triggered a regression to tribal fault lines.

In Jordan, the state issued special electoral laws to undercut the power of political parties and to foster tribal affiliations to undercut the opposition. In fact, the manifestation of modern "democracy" is based on institutionalizing tribalism, ethnic differences and sectarianism --a crime a committed by both Western occupying powers and national leaders.

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The Current Discussion: With Castro gone, will Cuba become America's 51st state?

The assumption that with Fidel Castro gone Cuba could become America's 51st state is in itself a vindication of the Cuban leader's position towards Washington.

The U.S. has never accepted Cuba an independent entity – yet it has also never looked at it as part of its sovereignty. In America’s view, it’s nothing more than a tiny island that has rejected its “subservient place” as dictated by the tyranny of geography. Pre-revolutionary Cuba was never respected in the least as a country of vibrant people with aspirations, hopes and dreams of their own. Post-revolutionary Cuba was subjected to hostility, suffocation, constant intimidation and even aggression by its northern powerful neighbor.

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