Stanford Report, March 22, 2006

In Print and On the Air

"By the standard that political scientists use, there's been a civil war going on in Iraq since sovereignty was handed over to the interim government in 2004," political science Professor JAMES FEARON said in a March 15 article by the Associated Press. One threshold political scientists use is a casualty toll of 1,000 dead, "and this conflict is way over that," said Fearon, who has studied modern internal conflicts. Besides the more than 2,000 U.S. dead in Iraq, at least 33,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed since 2003, according to the British anti-war group Iraq Body Count.

The Hoover Institution's Iran Democracy Project and its three co-directors, Hoover Research Fellow ABBAS MILANI, political science Associate Professor MICHAEL McFAUL and Hoover Senior Fellow LARRY DIAMOND, are included in a March 6 New Yorker article titled "Exiles: How Iran's Expatriates Are Gaming the Nuclear Threat." The article discusses the scholars' 2005 article, "Beyond Incrementalism: A New Strategy for Dealing with Iran," which they hoped would influence U.S. policy toward Iran. That article argues that American policy toward Iran has been "stuck" since 1979, and that the urgency of the nuclear crisis calls for strong diplomatic initiatives. The New Yorker reported that the Hoover article advocated regime change by means of engagement, urged the United States to negotiate directly with Iran on its nuclear program and supported replacing existing U.S. sanctions with "smart sanctions" targeting corrupt leaders. The Hoover article also argued for establishing diplomatic relations, "not as a concession to the mullahs but as a step toward opening, liberalizing and ultimately democratizing Iran." Last fall, The New Yorker reported, Milani met privately with officials at the State Department and the National Security Council. He told them that Iran's possession of nuclear weapons was inevitable, and that military strikes against nuclear sites would rouse Iranians' nationalism and extend the life of the regime for many years. "If there is a military attack on Iran, it will play into the narrative of the West as the aggressor, and all of these radical Islamists will be strengthened," Milani was quoted as saying. He also urged that the United States abandon the idea of anointing anyone as the future leader of Iran.

Stanford's Arizona Garden made a list of "top picks" in a guidebook series called Gardenwalks, according to a recent report by the Associated Press. A link from USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2006-02-27-gardenwalks_x.htm, takes readers to Stanford's website at http://grounds.stanford.edu/points/gardens/arizonagarden.html. The historical cactus garden, which is being restored, was designed for Jane and Leland Stanford by landscape architect Rudolf Ulrich between 1881 and 1883. It is located near the Stanford family mausoleum.