The Arab Human Development Report

The United Nations Development Program published a report today calling on Arab states to combat a growing knowledge deficit. The paper, the second in a series, observes that reformers committed to the free exchange of ideas face deep-seated obstacles in the Arab world. And its authors, who are Arabs themselves, suggest sweeping changes from within.

Meanwhile, in Iraq, the United States is working to refashion an entire Arab country with troops from Buffalo, Biloxi and San Jose as change agents. This new Iraq, key Washington powers hope, will be a catalyst for change throughout the Arab world. So, how do the reform urges from within and the urges from without line up? Can Iraq lead the Arab world to a new status quo which Arabs themselves are saying they need?

Click the "Listen" link to hear about the report and what it means for the future of the Arab world.

Guests:

Clovis Maksoud, professor of international relations at American University, and former ambassador from the Arab League to the United Nations, co-author of "Arab Human Development Report"

Fawaz Gerges, professor of international affairs and Middle Eastern affairs at Sarah Lawrence College

Guity Nashat, associate professor of history ath the Univerisity of Illinois at Chicago and author of The Origins of Modern Reform in Iran

Jack Beatty, On Point News Analyst, a senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly magazine