The Foreign Service Journal, December 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2014 13 What’s In a Name? S ince the terrorist group that calls itself the Islamic State and declares its intent to establish a new caliphate began grabbing headlines earlier this year, news organizations, government public a airs o ces and editors around the world— Journal sta included—have been wrestling with its proper designa- tion: ISIS? ISIL? Da’esh? Islamic State? When the group rst surfaced a couple of years ago, it was commonly called the “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” or ISIS. But as its name in Arabic suggests—Al-Dawla Al-Islamiya al-Iraq wa al-Sham, or the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham—the group’s aims go far beyond what we know today as Syria. Al-Sham refers to the region stretching from southern Turkey through Syria to Egypt, and including Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Jordan, known historically in English as “the Levant.” In the interest of precision, the White Ebola, how the disease is spread, who is at the greatest risk of exposure, tech- niques for preventing transmission and how Ebola is treated. e site o ers videos, audio clips and infographics on what is being done by the CDC to com- bat the disease. Doctors Without Borders. Doc- tors Without Borders (Medecins sans Frontieres) was one of the rst organi- zations to respond to the Ebola crisis in the early months of this year. e organization currently employs 270 international and about 3,000 local sta in West Africa. It operates six Ebola case management centers, with approxi- mately 600 beds. Its website includes the latest news, updates on a vaccine and a compre- hensive analysis of data compiled from their work in West Africa. From the start of operations in March until press time, the group has con rmed 23 sta mem- bers have been infected with Ebola, seven of whom have recovered. Science Magazine. In its “Special Collection: e Ebola Epidemic,” Science magazine has put together a special col- lection of resources for those interested in the research, as well as the news, on the virus. It includes links to top stories from its Ebola coverage, updates on vaccine research and scholarly articles on the virus itself. International SOS. is global medi- cal and travel security services company o ers “local expertise, preventive advice and emergency assistance during critical illness, accident or civil unrest.” In addition to news, educational materi- als, prevention tips and facts about the virus, International SOS’s “Ebola in West Africa” website features a comprehensive compilation of travel restrictions covering Africa, the Americas and other countries. It also lists travel and ight restrictions by country and airline. —Trevor Smith, Editorial Intern Anthony England/@EbolaPhone The end of the Cold War was just the beginning of the path towards a new Europe and a safer world order. But instead of building newmechanisms and insti- tutions of European security and pursuing a major demili- tarization of European politics, as promised, by the way, in NATO’s London Declaration, the West, and particularly the United States, declared victory in the Cold War. Euphoria and triumphalismwent to the heads of Western leaders. Taking advantage of Russia’s weakening and a lack of a counterweight, they claimed monopoly leadership and domination in the world. —Former Soviet president and general secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev, speaking at a symposium near the Brandenburg Gate on Nov. 8 in celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall 25 years ago. Contemporary Quote This map, which has gone viral on the Internet, was created to counter the mistaken perception that the continent of Africa is synonymous with Ebola.