 Is Iraq a real threat?
President George W. Bush's threat to bomb Iraq has divided the US allies. Iraq has softened its position on the return of UN weapons inspectors, but Washington argues it is not enough. Would an attack on Iraq be justified or should the country be given another chance? Should other countries support the US? And how should the world deal with Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction?
Can Bush win the war on terror?
President George W. Bush portrayed the war in Afghanistan as the first phase of a global crusade that will end when "every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated." As the war in Afghanistan winds down, the campaign on terror is moving into its second phase involving a diffuse set of operations aimed at thwarting the ability of a broadly defined range of terrorist groups to carry out attacks against the US and its allies. Is such a war too wide-ranging to be a success?
Prisoners of war?
Is the treatment by the US of the prisoners transported from Afghanistan to its
Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay on Cuba in breach of their human rights? Or
are criticisms of how prisoners are being held at the base misplaced?
Is Bush spending too much on defence?
President George W. Bush's proposed budget would increase defence spending
by 14 per cent, representing the largest military build-up in the past 20 years. An additional
$48bn would be allocated to the Pentagon's current budget for a total of $379bn in
the next fiscal year. According to Mr Bush's plan, military spending would grow one-third
over the next five years to a total of $451bn in 2007. The military budget reflects some
priorities besides the war against terrorism, such as a pay rise for troops.
At the same time, however, Mr Bush says his administration is prepared to do whatever it
takes to win the war against terrorism. Is Mr Bush's military budget an investment
in national or global security? Or is it a diversion of resources that neglects economic
security?
Is Bush right about Iran?
President George W. Bush used his State of the Union address to describe
Iran, alongside Iraq and North Korea, as an "axis of evil". His statement appears
to run contrary to an apparent thawing in relations between Western powers and
Iran ahead of the US's attack on the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. And China is
among those countries which have criticised President Bush for using extreme
language. Is President Bush's use of language appropriate? Is he right,
specifically, to describe the Iranian regime as evil? Please comment and vote
below.
Are anti-terrorist laws eroding civil rights?
Civil liberties groups are increasingly worried that aggressive anti-terrorist measures introduced in the West since September 11 are jeopardising constitutional rights and protections. Does the terrorist threat justify such legislation or are concerns that it will erode human rights legitimate?
Silencing bin Laden
US television news networks have decided not to broadcast live or unedited statements from Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda organisation. Is such self-censorship justified or are networks overreacting?
Assault on America
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Personal stories
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