In The News

How Not to Repeat the Mistakes of the Kyoto Protocol

Scott Barrett November 14, 2007
Most countries recognize the need for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. But for any climate treaty to succeed at reducing emissions, all countries – especially the big emitters – must participate. Otherwise, trade leakage will result, as emitting industries concentrate in the nations with the fewest restrictions. For such reasons, the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on...

Emergency for Pakistan – and the World

Ahmed Rashid November 12, 2007
The United States has long considered Pakistani President-General Pervez Musharraf an essential ally in its war on terror and provides more than $1 billion in annual foreign aid, most of which goes to the military for fighting terrorism. But Pakistan’s constitution prohibits Musharraf, who took office by coup in 1999, from serving another term as president while also serving as army chief. With...

India Holds Its Tongue on Pakistan

Amelia Gentleman November 9, 2007
India and Pakistan have engaged in three wars and ample animosity since 1947, when the two nations achieved independence from Great Britain. But the relationship between the two nuclear powers improved since 2004, with the start of peace talks, and so India’s response to recent turmoil in Pakistan has been cautious. Constitutional crisis has erupted in Pakistan as General Pervez Musharraf...

The Sovereign Wealth Explosion

Stuart E. Eizenstat November 8, 2007
A rise in state-owned funds and companies investing internationally has triggered national security concerns in a variety of countries and even some protectionist measures. These worries can sometimes be valid – observers of Russia's state-owned natural gas giant Gazprom, for instance, understand how government-controlled businesses may be used as tools of policy. However, former US...

Dialogue of Democracy: Indian Muslims Visit Israel

Tufail Ahmad November 7, 2007
Many Muslim nations, including Indonesia, Bangladesh and Malaysia, decline diplomatic relations with Israel, and the president of Iran has gone so far as to call for eradication of Israel. Yet refusing to meet with an opponent is not statesmanship. Last August, a visit of Indian Muslims to Israel was the first of its kind, meant to nurture a connection based on democracy. Muslims in India have...

China Takes Tough Line on Olympic Protests

Jonathan Watts November 2, 2007
World attention will focus on Beijing with the 2008 Olympics, and China anticipates activists to use the event to draw attention to a variety of causes. The country intends to uphold anti-protest laws and stop advocates from taking the spotlight away from athletic events and the host nation. Backed by a UN resolution supporting action to “observe and promote peace” at the Olympics, China could...

The United States Risks Walking Into a Trap in Iran

David Ignatius October 29, 2007
The West, including Russia, is serious about keeping nuclear weapons out of the Middle East. The 2003 invasion of Iraq removed a dictator – but cost billions, ruined the nation’s economy and displaced millions of refugees, even though no weapons of mass destruction were found. Other countries in the region now worry that the US plans an attack on Iran for refusing to stop a nuclear program that...