In The News

China’s North Korea Conundrum: How to Balance a Three Legged Stool

Jonathan D. Pollack October 23, 2009
China is caught in North Korea’s tangled web. As US Naval War College Professor Jonathan Pollack notes, despite offering economic life-support and friendly relations, Beijing does not seem able to curb North Korea’s nuclear ambitions nor can it extricate itself from supporting the isolated regime. And Pyongyang is taking full advantage: recognizing that China cannot cut its lifeline without...

Nuclear Challenge from Pakistan and Iran – Part II

Leonard S. Spector October 7, 2009
Iran’s surprise revelation of a nuclear facility near the city of Qom was not such a surprise given that Western intelligence agents already knew of the site. The consensus analysis was that Iran revealed the existence of the site precisely because it had been discovered. But Leonard S. Spector, Director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, believes the revelation was...

The Other Ticking Clock in Iran

Christian Caryl October 7, 2009
While Iran's nuclear program draws headlines around the world, a less widely known arms acquisition by Iran has been underway that would produce its own global ramifications. Since 2005, Iran has been in negotiations with Russia to acquire an advanced missile-defense system capable of striking incoming ballistic missiles and even stealth aircrafts. But Russia has stalled delivery to Tehran...

Obama’s Middle East Challenge – Part II

Dilip Hiro June 18, 2009
In this second part of a two part series on Obama’s Middle East challenges, author Dilip Hiro offers a pointed analysis of the Iranian election, detailing its flaws and its possible aftermath. Prior to the election, Iranian opinion polls suggested opposition candidate and former Prime Minister, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, was leading incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Thus it came as a surprise...

Tunnels, Guns and Kimchi: North Korea’s Quest for Dollars – Part I

Bertil Lintner June 9, 2009
Recent suggestions by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that North Korea could be re-listed as a state sponsoring terrorism raises the prospect of further tightening the economic noose around the regime. North Korea has got nuclear weapons but needs funds to keep the regime afloat. Yet, normal trading partners are loathe to transact with the pariah state subject to international sanctions. Hence...

North Korea’s Nuclear Tantrum

Shim Jae Hoon May 28, 2009
North Korea’s decision to conduct another nuclear test is a new chapter in leader Kim Jong Il’s fight for recognition. But Dear Leader Kim’s gamble may push the US, South Korea, and Japan into taking a tougher stand rather than accede to further demands, according to Seoul-based journalist Shim Jae Hoon. Indeed, North Korea’s traditional supporters, Russia and China have responded differently....

Pakistan Expanding Its Nuclear Capability

Robert Windrem May 13, 2009
While the Taliban challenge to the government in Pakistan has grown, the country has been busy building two of the world’s largest nuclear reactors in an area not far from Taliban-controlled land. A researcher at New York University quoting analysts writes that, without the proper infrastructure needed for power generation or any proximity to the electrical grid, the reactors’ sole purpose could...