The Taliban also destroyed ancient religious monuments that they deemed violative of Muslim teachings even those these monuments were part of the world's heritage. It was in this environment that charismatic Muslim leaders such as Osama bin Laden were able to step in and exploit the situation to their own advantage by inspiring yet more freedom fighters from all over the Arab world to join the battle to free

Culturally, the Bush administration failed miserably at understanding what needed to be done within the Iraqi cultures. For example, Diamond notes that the U.S. tried to build security through an Iraqi police for4ce but that effort "withered from haste, inefficiency, poor planning, and sheer incompetence." Cops were rushed on the job with "too little training, insufficient vetting, and shamefully inadequate equipment" (Diamond, 2004). The U.S. lacked "an effective political strategy

Summarizing The Journey through the Old Testament is a re-telling of the Books of the Old Testament from the standpoint of character. Instead of plot serving as the device that moves the story along, each chapter focuses on a specific character in the Old Testament and uses selections from Scripture to flesh out that character’s arc in one chapter. For instance, chapter one focuses on Lucifer, which is fitting since he

Tibetan Conflict Tibet has received much attention from the West. It is described as having a rich cultural heritage. It is viewed as being a victim of Communist aggression. It is hailed as a tourist destination. Each of these has some truth to it. But what is not always ascertained is the geopolitical importance of Tibet in Eurasian economics. Known as the "rooftop of the world," it contains in its plateaus

New Jersey's Budget Crisis Matt Bai and David Leonhardt agree that the rising cost of state government and the lack of fiscal restraint on the part of local and state government leaders has lead us to the budget crisis that many states are facing in these uncertain economic times. There are three lessons to be learned from these two articles; local and state governments need to become more efficient, contracts negotiated

It is for this reason that one could reasonably argue that Precious' entire life, and particularly the trials and tribulations she must endure, including her violent family life, her poverty, and her illiteracy, all ultimately stem from her racial and ethnic background, because the pervasive, institutional racial inequalities that still exist in America served to structure her entire life. Even before she began she was already disadvantaged by being born