Economist, Dec. 1
The cover story says the insertion of ground troops in Afghanistan may signal a “welcome reassessment” of the Powell Doctrine. The piece also criticizes Donald Rumsfeld’s pronouncement that U.S. troops will neither take POWs nor allow foreign Taliban recruits to return home. This “came horribly close to an invitation to kill even surrendering combatants.”… An article asserts that the euro’s sub-par performance to date is the result of nations dragging their feet on economic liberalization. European governments have been slow to tear down barriers to competition, labor-market deregulation is barely proceeding, and such EU directives as making postal services competitive have been delayed. … A piece calls on the Greeks and Turks of Cyprus to reach some sort of compromise. A far better solution than formally partitioning the island would be to make it a loose federation.— J.F.
Harper’s, December 2001
Don DeLillo shares his thoughts on Sept. 11 and the many narratives and counternarratives that have emerged. … An article juxtaposes details of the U.S. government’s lavish expenditures on national missile defense with a description of the wretched living conditions of the natives of the Marshall Islands, where NMD is tested. On the tiny island of Ebeye, which has a population density equal to Manhattan’s, there’s running water for only an hour-and-a-half each day. And, being downwind from the Bikini atoll, many Marshallese suffer the terrible effects of radiation exposure. … An article takes a small step toward solving the mystery of the infamous “Kenneth, what is the frequency?” beating of Dan Rather. There are a number of uncanny links between Rather and postmodern author Donald Barthelme. One Barthelme story includes the question, “What is the frequency?” Another features a newsman named Lather, and Kenneth is a recurring character. What’s more, Barthelme and Rather share eerily similar life histories.— J.F.
New Republic, Dec. 10
The cover story says the administration has already decided to take the war to Iraq after it finishes with Afghanistan, but it can’t agree on how to do it. The Pentagon wants a full-scale operation, but the lame State Department only wants to take out Iraqi weapons systems. State so far is winning the battle, but as long as Saddam Hussein stays in power, Iraq will remain a clear and present danger to the United States. … A piece by Laurence Tribe launches a five-pronged critique of President Bush’s military tribunal. Congress, which alone has the jurisdiction to consider the anti-terror regime in its totality, should roll the executive order back, but it should not get rid of it entirely. We cannot pretend as if we live in peacetime.—J.D.
New York Times Magazine, Dec. 2 The cover story takes stock of the luxury fashion industry after Sept. 11. Things don’t look so good. “The fashion world thrives on irony and bitchiness and meanness,” says one designer. “This attack is making people sincere.” Gucci’s sales have plummeted, but Yves Saint Laurent’s new purplish “gypsy peasant blouse” (cost: $2,500) is selling like hotcakes. … A profile of Wes Anderson finds the director, 32, still borrowing material from his own childhood (a scene in his first film mirrors a real life shoplifting incident). These autobiographical flourishes, the author argues, are key to Anderson’s “fully rounded, furiously detailed worlds.” And he still looks like an ingénu: 6 feet, 155 pounds, known to favor suits that are several sizes too small.— B.C.
Atlantic, December 2001
The cover story asks whether the two colors of the 2000 electoral map really divide America into two nations. Despite the real differences in sensibilities between largely rural Red America (the states that voted for Bush) and mostly urban Blue America (the Gore voters), “there is no chasm.” Gore’s populist message failed miserably in Red America because he conceived of the red-blue border as an economic divide between the haves and the have-nots. It may be, but unfortunately for Gore, Red Americans don’t count themselves among the have-nots. … A hagiography of Samuel Huntington praises the Harvard political science professor for his prescience. So many of his views about military intelligence, American security, and a clash of civilizations were vindicated on Sept. 11. … Judge Richard Posner argues for a cost-benefit analysis of civil liberties. Whenever the value of greater security outweighs the cost of reduced liberties, those liberties should be curtailed.— J.F.
Weekly Standard, Dec. 3
The cover book review takes two recent works of media criticism as an occasion to remark on the media’s post-Sept. 11 transformation. Liberal journalists like Dan Rather and Geraldo Rivera have abandoned their traditional biases and embraced patriotism whole hog. Rivera has even dropped his CNBC show to sign on with the conservative Fox News Network. … A piece claims that the antiwar movement of the 1960s had its facts all wrong. For example, the supposed 202,000 “political prisoners” held by South Vietnam probably numbered closer to 6,000 and included many terrorists, extortionists, and other genuine criminals. The peaceniks’ efforts led to a U.S. pullback just as it was about to win the war in South Vietnam. The author hopes that this time around, America won’t take its protesters so seriously.— J.F.
Time, Dec. 3
The cover story details the “bizarre and sadistic” treatment of Afghan women under Taliban rule. Routinely beaten and denied education and medical care, they live in terror of Afghan men. But underneath their b urqa, “the women are fierce, alive, and opinionated.” It is an unsettled question whether the next government will support their hopes for independence. … A piece evokes the misery of 6 million Afghan refugees bracing for winter. A gut-wrenching quote from a man helpless to protect his family from starvation and cold: “I just want to die once instead of this dying a little every day. The Americans should have bombed us as well.”… An article sounds the death knell for Amtrak. The experience of the last 30 years proves that it is impossible to profit on train travel. The government may get involved, as it has in Europe, to develop efficient regional rail transit in heavily traveled areas.— J.D.
Newsweek, Dec. 3
The cover story retells Sept. 11 from the first family’s perspective. (Newsweek promises that its “exclusive”interview was “candid.”) Full of representative quotes from the folksy president and his down-home wife, the piece gives both high marks. Laura Bush serves her country as a “calming presence.” President Bush “has a gift for war.” Why? Family, faith, and physical conditioning. … An article examines Afghanistan in the wake of the “half victory over the Taliban.” Extorting, looting, and murderous warlords are divvying up the semiliberated country. In desperation, the United Nations is threatening to withhold recovery funds until a workable government forms, in the expectation that international money appeals to the greedy more than leftover in-country scraps. … In an interview, Colin Powell tries to dispel the notion that he is the administration’s lone dove struggling against a Pentagon full of hawks. The interviewer presses Powell fairly hard on U.S. policy toward Israel-Palestine, but he doesn’t cough up anything interesting.— J.D.
U.S. News & World Report, Dec. 3
The cover story reports that a biotech firm in Massachusetts has engineered the world’s first cloned human embryo. Although human cloning has many opponents who envision “a tiny little person with buggy eyes,” researchers expect their technology will lead to treatments for chronic diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes. … An article surveys the post-Sept. 11 business landscape. Companies that make metal detectors, private jets, and duct tape are reaping the short-term rewards of terror. But some more significant growth industries, such as teleconferencing, data storage, and biotechnology could reorient themselves to serve the new mood. … A piece glimpses the future of holy war in some Pakistani jihadis who returned home after a failed quest for martyrdom. By and large, Islamic fundamentalists have lost their enthusiasm for jihad in response to the Taliban’s abject defeat. — J.D.
The New Yorker, Dec. 3
In the second of what may turn out to be a continuing series about countries besides Iraq that should scare the living daylights out of us, Seymour Hersh reports that Iran is very close to developing nuclear weapons. In the chaos of Soviet collapse, Iran forged relationships with a profiteering Russian gangster willing to sell arms materials. America, which needs Iranian support in its hunt for Osama Bin Laden, cannot very well demand that its military put a stop to proliferation. … A piece suggests that regular sleep may go the way of the buffalo. A new drug, Modafinil, can trick the brain into thinking it wants to be awake for days at a time. The beauty is that, unlike amphetamines, it doesn’t make you jittery or interfere with “recovery sleep.”—J.D.
The Nation, Dec. 10 The cover story reports on Hollywood’s eagerness to join the war effort. But despite a much-touted powwow between Karl Rove and film industry leaders, there’s good reason to be skeptical that anything substantial will come out of this new “bicoastal rapprochement.”… An article tries to stake out a progressive position on human genetic engineering. For starters, Congress ought to impose an immediate ban on human germline gene therapy. Next, an independent body of experts should be formed to educate the public and its leaders about genomic issues. And finally, the fertility industry will have to be more closely regulated. … A piece on the recent round of WTO talks suggests that at least a modicum of progress toward social justice was made in Doha, Qatar. This time around, the rich countries admitted in various ways that globalization screws the poor, and they even backed up their “rhetorical blather” with concessions that Third World public health ought to come before the patent rights of Big Pharma.— J.F.
