Background on the News - 2005-09-14

Hurricane Katrina's ravages in the Gulf Coast earlier this month have left many foreign policy experts questioning the Department of Homeland Security's capacity to prevent or limit the damages of a large-scale terrorist attack on the United States. Given the apparent failures of the federal government's response, it is worth revisiting "The Neglected Home Front," an essay by Stephen Flynn in Foreign Affairs last year, in which he identified some of the U.S. infrastructure's many soft spots and suggested how, if the private sector and civil society mobilized together, the nation might better be able to protect itself.

• Full text of original essay (September/October 2004)

In the Current Issue of Foreign Affairs

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

How to Win in Iraq

Andrew F. Krepinevich, Jr.

Because they lack a coherent strategy, U.S. forces in Iraq have failed to defeat the insurgency or improve security. Winning will require a new approach to counterinsurgency, one that focuses on providing security to Iraqis rather than hunting down insurgents. And it will take at least a decade.

China's Search for Stability with America

Wang Jisi

No country can affect China's fortunes more directly than the United States. Many potential flashpoints — such as Taiwan, Japan, and North Korea — remain, and true friendship between Washington and Beijing is unlikely. But their interests have grown so intertwined that cooperation is the best way to serve both countries.

Can Democracy Stop Terrorism?

F. Gregory Gause III

The Bush administration contends that the push for democracy in the Muslim world will improve U.S. security. But this premise is faulty: there is no evidence that democracy reduces terrorism. Indeed, a democratic Middle East would probably result in Islamist governments unwilling to cooperate with Washington.

In China's Own Eyes

Bruce Gilley

The Man Who Changed China, a state-sanctioned portrait of Jiang Zemin, reflects the image that China's new leaders want their people to see: pragmatic, moderate, and above politics. The vision, however, does not often match reality.

Previously in Background on the News

Constituting Iraq
August 31, 2005
If Iraq's elections last January were inspiring, the wrangling over the drafting of its constitution has been disquieting. After months of negotiations, Sunni leaders rejected the charter last week and are now calling on their followers throughout the country to vote against it in a planned mid-October referendum. . . . Read more

Giving India a Pass
August 17, 2005
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. . . . Read more

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

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