In The News

Asia's Security Depends on Opportunities for All

Surin Pitsuwan January 15, 2004
Since 1997's economic crisis in East Asia, many countries in the region have struggled to cope not only with economic problems but also pressing security issues. Surin Pitsuwan, former foreign minister of Thailand, writes here that Asia's security problems are deeply intertwined with its economic and political woes. Education, nutrition, healthcare, and basic social services are all...

N. Korea Displays 'Nuclear Deterrent'

Glenn Kessler January 11, 2004
A group of American observers visiting North Korean nuclear facilities are expected to report that Pyongyang does indeed have the plutonium it needs to produce nuclear weapons. The group is due to testify to the US Congress next week, but Pyongyang is already saying that it showed the unofficial delegation North Korea's 'nuclear deterrent'. Meanwhile, China is said to be trying...

Stopping Bioterrorism Before It Starts

Lauren T. Hickok January 8, 2004
The anthrax attacks that came on the heels of Sept. 11 frightened many Americans and added further fuel to calls for a global war on terror. Two years on, how secure is the world's supply of biological and chemical agents? Biosecurity experts Lauren T. Hickok and Reynolds M. Salerno write that although Washington has taken steps to mitigate the bioterrorism threat within the US, much work...

Saddam in Custody Offers New Opportunity

Shada Islam December 17, 2003
When Saddam Hussein was in power and was defying the UN, the US and its European allies wrangled over how to bring him into compliance. Now with the Iraqi leader in American custody there is a new opportunity to repair transatlantic relations. But there is also a fresh new hurdle. Writing from Brussels, veteran EU watcher Shada Islam says that the Pentagon's announcement that only nations...

Donors Warn of Lost Foreign Expertise

Rungrawee C Pinyorat December 12, 2003
Believing it has 'outgrown' the need for international donors' assistance, the government of Thailand has announced that it will no longer accept technical assistance from foreign countries. Once a recipient of Official Development Assistance (ODA) from countries such as Australia, Thailand has refused grants and soft loans for some time. The rejection of the third form of ODA –...

UN Calls for More Aid to Help North Korea Reform

Andrew Ward December 3, 2003
North Korea has seen much of its food aid disappear in the past year, presumably as donor nations aim to pressure Pyongyang to stop its nuclear weapons program. In the shift to a market economy, one million people were left without food, and analysts say that the politically-minded decision to cut off aid is starving the public. Without an increase in aid, North Koreans will be in dire straits...

Resurgent Taliban Threatens Afghan Stability, US Says

Steven R. Weisman November 19, 2003
The US-led forces that overthrew the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan two years ago still have a lot of work to do to secure the state. Though President Hamid Karzai, a pro-western Pashtun leader, is in office, local ethnic conflicts and power struggles continue to dominate the political arena. Despite devoting more than 16,000 soldiers and peacekeepers to the country, the US and its allies...