Iraqi Refugees
Displacement in Iraq, Where Are We Now?
By: Gonzalo Pena
The Al-Askari mosque in Samarra, Iraq was re-opened not too long ago, its reconstruction still underway. Its golden tiles shine in the desert again, while massive and obtrusive scaffolding surrounds the dome, along with the rest of the mosque. The mosque’s image reflects a dual message of hope and weariness for those whose lives have been transformed by the conflict in Iraq. On February 22, 2006, the mosque suffered its first bombing, unleashing a wave of sectarian conflict in a country already embedded in a bloody war, one that would leave a trail of death and massive displacement that would turn Iraq into the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world.
The Conditions for Return
Today the country is still trying to recuperate from the devastating years of 2006 and 2007 but signs of improvement are beginning to show. In a recent report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 81,000 internally displaced Iraqi have returned as of May of 2009. This news however, is far from true progress, as these returns have not always been sustainable…Continue Reading.
Why the ‘Japan Model’ for Iran Unsettles the West.
Interpreting Domestic Nuclear Aspirations of Iran
By: Colette Mazzucelli*
As general elections approach in Japan this fall, the world has the chance to assess if the party elected by the people for the past half century, the LDP, will triumph over the main challenger, the DJP. This election has important foreign policy implications given that the LDP includes a faction of hardliners. These nationalists advocate self-reliance for the country in defense, including the option to develop nuclear weapons. Recent ballistic missile and nuclear tests by North Korea provide motive and opportunity for nationalists to revisit the internal debate about a Japanese nuclear deterrent.
The critical issue is how the existing “peace clause” in Article 9 of the 1947 Constitution should be interpreted. Article 9 renounces war as a sovereign right of the nation as well as the threat or use of force as a means to settle international disputes. In LDP circles, there are members of the Diet (Japan’s bicameral legislature) who advocate the retention of the existing interpretation of Article 9, which excludes collective defense. The majority of the Japanese public supports this viewpoint. Mulgan argues in ‘Why Japan Can’t Lead’ that the party further divides into supporters of “revision by interpretation” versus constitutional reformists. Continued reading…
