Think Again

It likes to pretend it is a kinder, gentler alternative to the United States. But stagnant economies, suffering immigrants, and elitist rhetoric don't make a global powerhouse. With nothing less than the future of the European project at stake, the countries of Europe must now either unite behind much-needed reforms, or watch their differences tear them apart.

She is considered the ultimate team player, a woman of intelligence and poise whose loyalty to President George W. Bush is unwavering. But a closer look reveals that Condi is less intellectual, politically savvier, and far more formidable than people realize.

It protects wealthy autocrats, poisons the environment, and fuels international conflicts. Yet it won't be the false threat of scarcity or the rise of an Asian energy axis that convinces the world to finally kick the oil habit. An auto revolution courtesy of Silicon Valley and Shanghai may deliver an end to the defining addiction of our age.

Prohibition has failed -- again. Instead of treating the demand for illegal drugs as a market, and addicts as patients, policymakers the world over have boosted the profits of drug lords and fostered narcostates that would frighten Al Capone. Finally, a smarter drug control regime that values reality over rhetoric is rising to replace the "war" on drugs.

They help protect civilians and soldiers from the atrocities of war. But these hard-won rules of battle are falling by the wayside: Terrorists ignore them, and governments increasingly find them quaint and outdated. With every violation, war only gets deadlier for everyone.

He has been called a despot, a menace, and even a murderer. But Vladimir Putin's half-baked autocratic regime won't rule Russia forever. After nearly a decade in power, Putin is more isolated than ever. Will he step down, leaving behind a paralyzed political system and a bootless economy? Or will he continue the charade of phony democracy that has brought him this far?

The Olympic Games were founded to bridge cultural divides and promote peace. Instead, they often mask human rights abuses, do little to spur political change, and lend legitimacy to unsavory governments. Worse, the Beijing Games could still be the most controversial of all.

Six decades after its founding, the Jewish state is neither as vulnerable as its supporters claim nor as callous and calculating as its critics imagine. But if it is to continue defying all expectations, Israel must first confront its own mythology.

He may be the most unpopular president in modern times: a reckless, unilateralist cowboy. But history will be kinder to George W. Bush than contemporary caricatures. After eight years, he leaves behind much more than a defeated dictator in Iraq. Closer ties to India, a pragmatic relationship with China, and the pressure he applied to Iran will pay dividends for years to come.

U.S. standing in the world matters, Americans care about it, and a weakened stature continues to hamper U.S. policy. Twenty prominent political scientists have recently completed a year-long study of the issue and clear away the underbrush of misunderstanding.

Don't believe the hype about Japan's new ruling party and the supposed revolution it is launching. As the new government completes its first month in office, all signs point to more of the same old stagnation in Tokyo.

From the outside, the Vatican appears resistant to change and tone-deaf to scandal. But, in truth, the world's oldest religious institution bears little resemblance to the mysterious church imagined by conspiracy theorists. Today, Catholicism is attracting millions of new and diverse followers who are embracing the church's traditions of debate and independence as gospel.