The war between religious fanaticism and secular modernity is fought over women's bodies, says Katha Pollitt. The riots related to the Miss World event in Kaduna, Nigeria, resulted in more than 200 people being murdered. Pollitt comments.

Analysis of the current Iraq crisis in historical context. The Monthly Review Editors argue that the United States's larger goal is "projection of U.S. power through assertion of American dominance over the entire Middle East." They contextualize the situation as a development in the history of imperialism.

United States foreign policy is immoral, unsuccessful, and increasingly dangerous to those who practice or favor it. An excerpt from "Another Century of War?" by leading historian of modern warfare Gabriel Kolko.

With no declaration of war, United States and British warplanes bomb Iraq an average of 3-4 times a week, and kill civilians. Jeremy Scahill reports offering perspectives of ordinary Iraqis to the no fly zones and other matters.

Bush administration staff attempt to smear the inspectors and the inspection process in Iraq, including a "whispering campaign" against Hans Blix. However, by so flagrantly trying to sabotage the process, Jeremy Brecher argues, the Bush administration is not only courting political isolation abroad, it is giving ordinary Americans good reason to oppose its march toward war.

Resentment about United States policies on war and peace is growing. German philosopher Jurgen Habermas, author of "The Postnational Constellation", argues that the U.S. should not make war on Iraq "without unequivocal backing from the United Nations." (Interview by Danny Postel)

The warning by world's leading expert, Mohammed el-Baradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Authority, is likely to rankle with hawks in the U.S. government. The inspections for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq "could take a year." Brian Whitaker reports.

Iraqi expatriate, Kanan Makiya, promotes himself as the father of what he calls a "non-Arab" and decentralised post-Ba'ath country. Makiya's justifies the invasion of Iraq by the United States with his proposal that the new Iraq should be non-Arab. Edward Said comments.