In The News

Escaping North Korea’s Nuclear Trap

Nancy Soderberg February 12, 2003
Nancy Soderberg, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, reviews the history of U.S. negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear program. In each case, direct negotiations have led to North Korean compliance, suggesting that the Bush administration’s most viable option in resolving the current crisis is to negotiate bilaterally with North Korea once again, and offer incentives such...

Arab Press Welcomes NATO Split

February 12, 2003
Newspapers around the Arab world are joyful at the split that has occurred between the US and its NATO allies Germany, Belgium, and France. The three countries have stated their opposition to protecting Turkey, a fellow NATO member, arguing that to promise it even defensive support would mean encouraging a US-led war on Iraq. Interpreting the three countries' move as support of Arab...

Don't ignore 'North Korea Effect'

William Pesek Jr. February 11, 2003
In this commentary in Singapore's Straits Times, William Pesek Jr. argues that "The West may be preoccupied with Iraq, but those who ignore risks from North Korea could be hit on the blind side by declining Asian markets." The 'North Korea Effect' he describes anticipates North Korea developing and testing nuclear weapons, setting off an economic chain reaction. A...

China Maneuvers to Bring a Soft-landing to the Korean Crisis

Yu Bin February 11, 2003
China is in no position to tell North Korea what to do regarding the current nuclear crisis. Since the end of the Korean War in 1953, Beijing's relations with Pyongyang have soured. At the same time, China has cultivated political and economic relations with both South Korea and the United States. But, as Yu Bin, the author of a book on China's role in the Korean War, explains, China...

Mixing Free Market, Minority Domination and Democracy Results in World On Fire

Pat Sewell February 10, 2003
In her recent book, World on Fire, Yale University professor Amy Chua argues that it is the resentment of long-standing minority domination that has so much of the world’s citizens ready to take up arms. Pat Sewell examines the author’s contentions and assesses her sweeping proposals for solving the most challenging problem facing global society since the Second World War. – YaleGlobal

Allies Face a Fresh Crisis

Joseph Fitchett February 10, 2003
The differences over Iraq that emerged between France, Germany and the US in the UN Security Council have now widened and spilled over into NATO. The Bush administration and Congressional leaders were furious at a news report about a secret Franco-German plan to boost the number of arms inspectors in Iraq. That dispute has now spread to NATO as France, along with Germany and Belgium, blocked...

Schröder's back is against the wall

Elise Kissling February 7, 2003
Behind-the-scenes maneuvering by Great Britain, Spain, and several eastern European states has left France and Germany the only major EU opponents of war in Iraq. If France abandons German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder during the next UN war resolution vote, Schroder will be on his own in Europe. Schroder must maintain the support of antiwar Germans while earning the backing of his own Christian...