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other magazines: Summaries of what's in Time, Newsweek, etc.

Saddam-ed Again?

By Julia Turner
Updated Friday, March 7, 2003, at 12:08 PM ET

New Republic, March 17
Lawrence F. Kaplan argues that the State Department is so wedded to the idea of "stability" in postwar Iraq that it has deep-sixed ties to the democratic Iraqi opposition, scrapped plans for a federalist political structure that would give Kurdish, Sunni, and Shiite groups autonomy within a new Iraq, and sought out former Saddam loyalists as potential leaders. If the administration heeds State's advice, Kaplan warns, it will "abort the Bush team's campaign to democratize the Arab world before it even begins." (Though the piece scarcely mentions Colin Powell, Slate noted in 2001 that Kaplan's no fan of the secretary of state.) … Peter Beinart argues that Bush is paying far too little attention to North Korea's recent nuclear foot-stamping. If the administration is simply postponing diplomacy, Beinart says, it is sacrificing security for politics. If it plans to fight North Korea after it tackles Iraq, "the United States is much closer to the brink than most Americans realize."

Economist, March 8
Though the cover illustration suggests that Bush may have bit off more than he can chew, the story inside defends the administration, arguing that America—"the indispensable superpower"—has had no choice, since "the Clinton administration neglected too many unresolved problems" in the Cold-War-cleanup '90s. … Another piece takes Bush and Co. to task for their approach to civil liberties, describing the case of alleged "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla and noting that even Nelson Mandela, imprisoned in apartheid-era South Africa, had access to lawyers. (For more on Padilla's legal treatment, read this article in Mother Jones.) … And a story on affirmative action in the United Kingdom notes that "what caste is to India and race is to America, class is to Britain." The piece goes on to argue against policies designed to augment the number of poor students attending university; the government should reform secondary schools instead.

Harper's

Harper's, March 2003
Editor Lewis Lapham offers the following philippic: "As a promotional venue for any season's collection of worthy thoughts and tasteful sentiments, the Sunday New York Times Magazine commands the authority of the show windows at Bergdorf Goodman. Of the moment and with the trend, the editors arrange the sociopolitical merchandise in ways meant to attract discriminating shoppers in the markets of received opinion—well-informed and right-thinking people, competently educated and decently affluent, alive to the similarities in the works of Versace and Matisse, fond of animals and the several shades of beige." Though contempt from Lapham is hardly surprising, perhaps his attitude toward magazine readers explains why Harper's makes so little effort to be readable. Has a popular magazine column ever been as poorly laid out as the "Index"? … In a very readable article, however, Jeffrey Sharlet poses as a believer and infiltrates the Family, a Washington-based syndicate of powerful men seeking Jesus. Both the details—members compare themselves to the Mafia and include congressmen who want "the Christian to win the race with the Muslim"—and the journalistic ethics—going undercover in a prayer group and publishing its address—might leave you queasy, but the piece is un-put-downable.

New York Times Magazine

New York Times Magazine, March 9
As for the Gray Lady's glossy offshoot, this week its "sociopolitical merchandise" includes a profile of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. The piece contends that the largely Republican court experiments with increasingly conservative rulings; the Supreme Court frequently reverses the court's decisions but consistently allows some of the circuit's envelope-pushing conservatism to become the law of the land. … Picking up where Time's piece on "smart mobs" left off, a profile of Eli Pariser, the 22-year-old who helps use the Internet to mobilize protesters for the anti-war movement notes that technology can be used to mobilize money, too: "Moveon.org used its database to raise $200,000 for [Paul Wellstone's] replacement on the ballot, Walter Mondale, in just two hours." … Also, the Lazy Caption of the Week, from a fashion piece on the re-emergence of tie-dye: "With incredible prescience, fashion has anticipated the moment, offering for spring a bright alternative." Prescience? Incredible.

The New Yorker

The New Yorker, March 10
Why didn't John Walker Lindh ever go to trial? A piece describes how the Justice Department's case against him disintegrated: The defense was prepared to argue that the FBI agent who extracted Lindh's confession ignored advice that such an interrogation would be illegal. Justice eventually dropped nine of the original 10 charges and settled for a 20-year sentence. Though it contends that Lindh could be innocent, the story is sharpest when detailing the ditherings of the criminal justice system post-9/11. … Malcolm Gladwell takes on intelligence critics. The woulda-shoulda-couldas lobbed at the FBI and CIA for their failure to predict the Trade Center attacks? Keen hindsight, Gladwell says. And he points out that consolidating intelligence-gathering operations may not be the answer: "Isn't it an advantage that the F.B.I. doesn't think like the C.I.A.?" … James Surowiecki says Gulf War II will be too short and too cheap to cause an economic boom.

Mother Jones

Mother Jones, March-April 2003
According to Newsweek, the Bush administration's pursuit of war in Iraq just isn't about oil. According to Mother Jones, it just is. The United States doesn't want to control Iraqi oil so we'll be warm in Peoria, the cover story argues. Bush & Co. are actually after the clout such control would provide in dealings with Europe, China, and other countries that rely on the region's resources. Despite a tendency to portray the coming war as the fruition of a 30-year neoconservative scheme, the piece provides a detailed history of the issue. … A story adds detail to Newsweek's report that the United States pulled out of the World Health Organization's anti-tobacco treaty, maintaining that Dubya's godson called the assistant surgeon general and asked him to back down shortly after Philip Morris contributed $57,764 to the Republican Party. … Will lefty mags never tire of listing absurd Pentagon expenditures? This year's best: $16,758 for a cappuccino machine.

Time

Time, March 10
The cover story examines plans for a postwar Iraq and takes a far more nuts-and-bolts look than a recent piece in the New York Times Magazine. After naming a few contenders to rule the nation, Time details a likely postwar agenda: reforming Iraqis loyal to Saddam and managing the country's oil in a way that keeps the United States from looking like a voracious oil hound. The piece calls the Pentagon's plan "rudimentary," citing its "mushy military jargon." … An article on Saddam's finances reveals how he manipulates the United Nations' Oil for Food program, diverting 30 cents for every barrel sold into his private coffers. The piece also notes that the United States is the largest purchaser of Iraqi oil. … The Internet and other technological advances have been crucial organizational tools for anti-war activists, says a story on "smart mobs."

Newsweek

Newsweek, March 10
Claiming that Dubya is our most overtly devout president in recent history, the cover story reads as a sort of President's Progress: a religious profile of the commander in chief who says his faith was what helped him conquer his addiction to alcohol. … An accompanying piece by a Lutheran minister and University of Chicago prof argues that "the Bible presents a more nuanced God" than the one Bush so often cites. … A two-page story argues that the war "is not over petroleum," but only cites government officials who say the war's really intended to send a message to the region's rulers that weapons of mass destruction are bad and opening up political systems is good. … A front-of-book piece notes that the United States is one of two nations—of 171—that say they may not sign a World Health Organization treaty restricting cigarette promotion worldwide.

U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report, March 10
The cover story describes Bush's final "push to war," recapping the president's recent shift to a rhetoric of liberation and his new reading habits: Apparently the president "devours" a 6-10 page "single-spaced" memo from Condi Rice and a shorter memo from Powell each night before bed. … U.S. News also tackles Bush's faith in a quickie sidebar; while Newsweek dismissed the story that Billy Graham was responsible for sparking Dubya's religious bent as the stuff of ghostwritten campaign biographies (longtime friend Don Evans was the key), U.S. News quotes it as fact. … Another discrepancy between the two mags: The U.S. News cover story has Bush reading the Bible in the morning; Newsweek says it's My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers.

Weekly Standard

Weekly Standard, March 10
"Saddam's victims talk," the cover trumpets. The piece inside describes the opinions of many Iraqi exiles in the United States: They favor the fall of Saddam; they fear that the U.S. Army might fail to support a postwar Iraqi uprising (as it did after the Gulf War); and they are fans of vocal Saddam detractor Paul Wolfowitz. The story argues that national media outlets haven't given these views their due, dismissing them as "pro-war propaganda." … The Standard also joins the fray on Bush and religion, with a story that examines why Bush has taken to citing "Providence" in his speeches. … A "Scrapbook" piece takes a stand against the giant snow phallus recently built, destroyed, and argued about on a Harvard quad. Slamming conservative bloggers and siding with campus feminists who deemed the sculpture offensive, the article declares: "If this is 'victim feminism,' then we are victim feminists, too."

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Julia Turner is Slate's deputy editor. You can e-mail her at .
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