In The News

American Special Forces in Pakistan: Back to the Future?

Paula R. Newberg November 21, 2007
The reaction to the news that the US Defense Department has decided to send Special Forces trainers to Pakistan’s unruly tribal areas has so far been muted. But the irony of the decision and its long-term implication for the Subcontinent is hard to miss. In the eighties, the US administration poured money and weapons in Pakistan to train the Mujahideen to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. The...

Why Climate Change Can't Be Stopped

Paul J. Saunders October 18, 2007
Most world leaders agree that global warming is a real and pressing issue, and are ready for any ideas on how to stop, fix or adapt to the problem. Environmentalists still express hope that conservation - some immediate sacrifices - could save species, habitats and even some human lives. “Unfortunately, given the scale and complexity of modern economies and the time required for new technologies...

Overheated Planet Seeking Solutions: Emissions Fix May Lie Beneath Us

Laurie Goering October 16, 2007
Early in 2007, businessman and environmentalist Richard Branson offered a $25 million prize for developing a technology that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. An existing technology, however, promises to capture those emissions before they begin warming the planet. Carbon sequestration involves trapping carbon emissions from power plants or other polluters, pumping them deep underground...

Chinese Consulate in Mandalay Attacked

Saw Yan Naing October 10, 2007
Demonstrations against the government ruling Burma, renamed Myanmar, have evolved to include protests against China, for keeping the military junta in power. A drive-by shooting targeted the Chinese consulate in Mandalay, and local observers suggest that the event reveals rising hostility toward Beijing. Since violent riots between Burmese and Chinese residents of Rangoon 40 years ago, the...

Crouching Alliance, Hidden Angst?

Yu Bin October 10, 2007
Recent military exercises by the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, particularly Russia and China, have prompted speculation about an emerging military alliance between the two Asian powers, standing in opposition to the United States. However, Yu Bin, senior fellow for the Shanghai Institute of American Studies and political science professor at Wittenberg University, argues that...

How Russia Lost the Moon

Sergei Khrushchev October 4, 2007
Sputnik’s launch 50 years ago marks a watershed event in human innovation. The Soviets anticipated success; for them, Sputnik was another marker in their continuous progression past Western technology. However, a little more than a decade later, the Americans became the first to reach the moon. Soviet efforts in the space race, argues Khrushchev, ultimately failed because of jealousy within the...

Trade and Security Trump Democracy in Burma – Part II

Salil Tripathi October 4, 2007
Human-rights abuses in Burma have caused worldwide outrage, with no effect on the regime. This series analyzes external influences on the junta that controls Burma. Western activists who pressure businesses rather than supportive governments do not maximize their resources or influence, argues writer and Asian specialist Salil Tripathi, in the second article of the two-part series. Assuming that...