<b>David Rieff</b><P>David Rieff is a contributing writer to <I>The New York Times Magazine.</i> He is the author of seven previous books, including the acclaimed <I>At the Point of a Gun: Democratic Dreams and Armed Intervention; A Bed for the Night: Humanitarianism in Crisis;</i> and <I>Slaughterhouse: Bosnia and the Failure of the West.</i> He lives in New York City.