 Despite U.S. efforts to improve security in Iraq to allow political reconciliation between the different parties, progress remains painfully slow. Achieving stability will require the reintegration of Ba'athist insurgents, improved oil regulations, and the elimination of sectarian quotas according to Iraqi legislators during a recent Carnegie briefing.
 Pakistan's investment in economic and social development has been dwarfed for decades by its military expenditures. Sandra Polanksi lead a distinguished panel of
experts
in a discussion on the polarizing effect on Pakistani society of this underinvestment and the need for the international community to allow local solutions for Pakistan's problems.
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 Moderate Islamist groups formed political parties throughout the Middle East with the hope of realizing religious reforms and wresting political power away from ruling elites. Amr Hamzawy shows that they have not been successful on these fronts and now face “growing scepticism surrounding political participation that could shake the commitment of moderate Islamists to peaceful change.”
The June issue of the Arab Reform Bulletin features:
• Interview with the blogger Sandmonkey
• Rifts emerging in Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood
• Why most Arab human rights commissions are ineffective
• The back story behind Morocco's new Movement for All Democrats
Plus ongoing reader debates about economic reform and trickle down, Morocco's electoral system, news developments from across the region, debates in the Arab media, new publications, and much more.
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 Public outrage continues in China over the government’s oversight of poor construction standards that contributed to the rising death toll in towns leveled by last month’s massive earthquake in Sichuan Province. Carnegie experts explore the political consequences of the earthquake for the Communist Party.
 International outrage at Burma’s military junta over their hindrance of aid efforts to cyclone victims has done little to push the regime toward greater openness. Joshua Kurlantzick explains in the New Republic that the regime is skilled at doing the bare minimum to hold onto power against domestic and international calls for change. The junta is buttressed by China’s support, providing Beijing an opportunity to make a positive impact through pressure on Burma’s government for reforms.
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr., speaking at Carnegie, urged China to allow the value of the yuan to rise and said it should cut energy price controls to ease fuel and power shortages. Secretary Paulson reviewed progress made under the U.S.-China strategic economic dialogue and outlined his agenda - particularly energy and the environment -ahead of the fourth semiannual round of cabinet-level talks next week at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. | 
Iraqi Stalemate
