In The News

In Washington's Good Books?

Khaled Dawoud October 8, 2004
Syria's porous border with Iraq, continuing presence in Lebanon, and harboring of Palestinian groups have all poisoned US-Syrian relations. A recent visit to Damascus by US Assistant Secretary of State Willam Burns may have led to a breakthrough in several diplomatic impasses. "Certainly the dialogue between the US and Syria is a more serious dialogue than we've had in quite a...

Koizumi's Change-Up

William Antholis October 8, 2004
Japan has been the biggest laggard among the developed countries, and given the size of its economy, its ten-year stagnation has been a drag for the whole world. Power of the entrenched bureaucracy and vested interest of the political bosses have held back attempts to reform the economy. But change may be coming. According to the Brookings Institution’s William Antholis, recent high-level...

Only Hussein Had Full Picture

Bob Drogin October 7, 2004
Based on in depth interrogations with a cooperative Saddam Hussein, a report by the CIA's Iraq Survey Group released Wednesday revealed that the former Iraqi leader’s purported stock of destructive arms was all smoke and mirrors. Apparently, Hussein kept a close watch on his weapons program, and knew that his regime had no capability to make so-called weapons of mass destruction. He kept up...

Spread of 'Preemptive-ism' and Indonesia Sovereignty

Mohamad Mova Al Afghani October 7, 2004
Standing upon the precedent of US president George W. Bush, Australian Prime Minister John Howard has also claimed the right of his country to prevent terrorist attacks with preemptive strikes. In this op-ed from neighboring country Indonesia and likely home of many of the “terrorist bases” Howard wishes to target, the writer argues that the “doctrine” of preemption is not widely accepted in the...

Patriot Qualms

Paula R. Newberg October 6, 2004
The repercussions of the 2001 US Patriot Act are especially damaging to foreign aid and humanitarian relief. Provisions aiming to undercut terrorist funding have contributed to greater woes for organizations seeking financial backing. Washington-mandated bureaucratic gymnastics have rendered humanitarianism "a logistics nightmare," according to Brookings Institution scholar Paula R....

Lack of Arabic Speakers is a Crack in US Security

Daniel Sneider October 5, 2004
The growing realities of world geopolitics have given non-traditional languages an elevated profile in the US-waged war on terrorism. The recent revelation that over 123,000 hours of FBI-collected audiotapes of terrorist "chatter" had been left untranslated has further sparked a movement toward developing competent translation and cultural agents. The US Army's Defense Language...

Turkey: EU Reports Pave Way for Qualified Approval of Entry Talks

Ahto Lobjakas October 4, 2004
For over a decade, Turkey has tried to force the issue of its accession into the European Union (EU) onto the agenda of the European Commission. With the recent release of two draft progress reports, serious discussions seem imminent. While the reports laud the country's social and political reforms, Turkey still fails to meet certain entry requirements. At issue are the country's...