Background on the News - 2005-08-17

Last month the Bush administration announced plans to sell India civilian nuclear technology, prompting a firestorm of criticism from nonproliferation advocates charging that the move would reward irresponsible behavior and spur proliferation elsewhere. Indiana University's Sumit Ganguly argued in Foreign Affairs back in 2001 that Washington's approach to nuclear issues on the subcontinent was outdated. In this postscript, he explains why the Bush administration's new policy makes eminent sense and why the criticisms of it are specious.

• Read Sumit Ganguly's new update (August 17, 2005)
• Full text of original essay (September/October 2001)

Previously in Background on the News

Public Agenda's Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy Index
August 03, 2005
American thinking about U.S. relations with the Islamic world is a disquieting mix of high anxiety and growing uncertainly about current policy according to a new national tracking survey conducted by Public Agenda in conjunction with Foreign Affairs. . . . Read more

A Fine Balance
July 20, 2005
In the opening months of its second term, the Bush administration has only intensified its rhetoric on the importance of bringing democracy to authoritarian states, not least as a way of improving American security. . . . Read more

Iraq: Exit 43?
July 6, 2005
As the insurgency drags on and casualties mount, American public support for the Iraq operation has begun to decline. . . . Read more

• Newsletter Archive

In the Current Issue of Foreign Affairs

The complete text of selected essays and of all the book reviews from the July/August issue can be found on the Foreign Affairs Web site. Currently the following essays are available in their full text:

Preparing for the Next Pandemic

Michael T. Osterholm

If an influenza pandemic struck today, borders would close, the global economy would shut down, international vaccine supplies and health-care systems would be overwhelmed, and panic would reign. To limit the fallout, the industrialized world must create a detailed response strategy involving the public and private sectors.

Regime Change and Its Limits

Richard N. Haass

To speak of dictatorship as being the immemorial way of doing things in the Middle East is simply untrue. It shows ignorance of the Arab past, contempt for the Arab present, and lack of concern for the Arab future. Creating a democratic political and social order in Iraq or elsewhere in the region will not be easy. But it is possible, and there are increasing signs that it has already begun.

Occupational Hazards

Phebe Marr

Two postmortems on the Iraq occupation lambaste Washington for handling the job poorly. But doing much better would be so difficult that perhaps the bar should be raised for going to war in the first place.