In The News

Cargo Ship Raided by Greece Was Going to Sudanese Capital

Frank Bruni June 24, 2003
Greek officials detained a ship carrying several hundred tons of explosives bound for Sudan this weekend. The ship, with a crew of five Ukrainians and two Azerbaijanis, went undetected by marine officials as well as US anti-terrorism intelligence for over six weeks - departing from Albania, collecting its cargo in Tunisia, and stopping in Istanbul - before Greece detained it in response to a tip...

Friends with the Dragon

C.V. Ranganathan June 24, 2003
Indian Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee’s visit to China has attracted the world's attention. Many are hopeful that a mutual agreement can be reached to thaw cold political relations of the past. In this opinion piece in Outlook India, C.V. Ranganathan, a former Indian ambassador to China, emphasizes the importance of more mutual understanding and cooperation between the two countries....

China Remains Wary of the US-Led World Order

Robert Sutter June 18, 2003
As it rises in economic strength, China is currently cooperating with the US-dominated global power structure. But this cooperation may not last, argues China scholar Robert Sutter. US attempts to contain China through international organizations and a regional military presence have frustrated China's leaders, who dream of a grander Chinese presence in Asia and the world. Beijing has also...

European Foreign Envoys Discuss Iraq and Use of Force

Anthee Carassava May 4, 2003
At a recent meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Greece, the discussions focused on the resumption of diplomatic missions to Iraq and the design of a European security strategy. The proposed European Security Strategy document will be "a common threat assessment on issues ranging from weapons of mass destruction and terrorism, to refugee flows and regional crises." The...

Why the Security Council Failed

Michael J. Glennon May 1, 2003
The UN was weak and irrelevant long before the divisive US-led war on Iraq made this painfully obvious, International Law scholar Michael Glennon maintains. He explains that Iraq is more a symptom of UN structural problems and changes in its geopolitical environment than a cause.. The UN was created to preside over a multi-polar world and now finds itself dealing with an unrivalled US hegemony...

U.S. Officials Consider Ways to Punish France

Brian Knowlton April 23, 2003
The French reacted “brusquely” to recent discussions of consequences for its behavior throughout the Iraq crisis. Countering US Secretary of Defense Colin Powell’s remarks that France would suffer consequences for its opposition in the UN Security Council, French officials stated that they will continue in their commitment to defend international law. Despite this apparent rift, US President...

Iraq War Ends, Not Europe's Acrimony with the US

Shada Islam April 15, 2003
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spain's Jose Maria Aznar have joined France and Germany in demanding that the United Nations play the central role in administering and rebuilding post-Saddam Iraq. Not only does the UN have the experience and the expertise to handle Iraq's reconstruction, it is the only body with a legal mandate to do so. UN oversight, EU leaders argue, will be...