In The News

What North Korea Really Wants

Robert Carlin February 8, 2007
With the six-party negotiations, North Korea certainly has some goals, but those remain a mystery to many observers from the West. The nation could want some economic rewards, including energy, food or other forms of aid. Or, the nation could want security or diplomatic relations. Robert Carlin and John Lewis, long-time analysts of North Korea, contend that the nation really wants “a long-term,...

Smuggler’s Plot Highlights Fear Over Uranium

Lawrence Scott Sheets January 26, 2007
Officials in Georgia, a former Soviet republic, have arrested people carrying around uranium samples in garbage bags – and involved US officials in their investigations. Defying security measures imposed on such nuclear material, the sellers seek interested buyers. Terrorist groups and even some insecure nations would be willing to pay hefty amounts for the ingredients of a nuclear weapon,...

A Nuclear Power Renaissance

Rüdiger Falksohn January 16, 2007
In an effort to prevent carbon-dioxide emissions and global warming, more nations pursue nuclear power, including some that lack ample water to cool the reactors or remote areas for storing the waste. The world now has 31 countries with 435 atomic reactors generating power, and at least 100 more reactors are planned, reports Rüdiger Falksohn in “Der Spiegel.” Falksohn also offers the reminder...

A World Free of Nuclear Weapons

George P. Shultz January 8, 2007
The Cold War started and ended one era of Mutual Assured Nuclear Destruction. But today small states and non-state terrorist groups with nuclear ambitions pose an unprecedented threat to the world security. The process of denuclearization should start with current nuclear states destroying their arsenal and signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, urges a group of high-ranking US officials who...

Seeking Iran Intelligence, U.S. Tries Google

Dafna Linzer December 15, 2006
With the Central Intelligence Agency busy, the US State Department turned to Google to track individuals linked to Iran’s nuclear development program, collecting names that emerged most often when searching for “Iran” and “nuclear.” Critics question whether a Google search is the best way for tracking down targets for international sanctions that involve limiting their travel and freezing assets...

Washington’s Iraq Dilemma: Dialogue with Syria Could Serve Bigger Purpose

Matthew Lee December 14, 2006
The Iraq Study Group report recommends diplomatic initiative to resolve the war in Iraq. If the US administration heeds the advice of the Iraq Study Group, by seeking containment of the Iraqi conflict through dialogue with regional powers, one promising candidate would be Damascus. In the second of this two-part series, Matthew Lee explores how, for a brief moment, the interests of the US and the...

Washington’s Iraq Dilemma: Why Engaging Iran Is a Good Idea

George Perkovich December 12, 2006
Many states throughout the Middle East have authoritarian leaders, disgruntled citizens, troubled economies – and governments as tenuous as houses made of cards. The report from the Iraq Study Group warns that the war in Iraq could widen into a regional conflict and encourages US policymakers to change tactics by initiating direct engagement with Iran and Syria to gain their cooperation in...