In The News

For Tehran, Nuclear Program Is a Matter of National Pride

George Perkovich March 21, 2005
The development of nuclear technologies has become a matter of nationalistic pride for Iranians from all walks of life. The government of Iran has had a hand in cultivating this trend, but the mobilization of public sentiment is mostly due to the popular perception of the United States as an antagonist, writes George Perkovich. By calling Iran dangerous and casting it in the role of an aggressor...

Bush's Conversion on the Road to Tehran

Philip H. Gordon March 18, 2005
These days, the competition for the title of "World's Most Pressing Nuclear Threat" seems tight. Weeks ago, North Korea stole the show with its admission of nuclear weapons possession; but in the battle for headline primacy, at least, the Iran issue has emerged as this week's winner. The most recent development involves the United States: On March 11, the Bush...

A Global Strategy for Fighting Terrorism

Kofi A. Annan March 15, 2005
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan proposes a series of five strategies to fight global terror in this article, which is adapted from a public address in Madrid, Spain. The "five D's" include "dissuading" discontented groups from engaging in terrorist tactics; "denying" terrorists the weapons of attack, including nuclear arsenal; "deterring" states from...

Crafting Intelligence: Iraq, North Korea, and the Road to War

Selig Harrison March 8, 2005
As the North Korea nuclear problem continues to unfold, the need for credible intelligence becomes even more urgent. And to avoid another Iraq-type situation – an overextended US military, thousands of deaths, transatlantic ill will – the American public should be wary of the Bush administration's use of intelligence, writes Selig Harrison. According to Harrison, the administration...

China Doubts US Data on North Korean Nuclear Work

Joseph Kahn March 7, 2005
As diplomatic jousting over East Asian security continues, the United States received a public blow from China. Questioning the accuracy of US intelligence on North Korea's nuclear arsenal, a Chinese official essentially communicated Beijing's unwillingness to pressure its neighbor. The Bush administration had appealed previously to China, North Korea's only significant ally, to...

A Question in Blix

Mohamed Sid-Ahmed March 4, 2005
Developed nations no longer monopolize weapons of mass destruction; nor are rogue states the most troubling new nuclear threats. The secrets of producing nuclear weapons have been spilled, and the cost of their production has fallen, making them available to non-state actors – namely, terrorists. Against this backdrop, UN weapons expert Hans Blix answers a difficult question: "Given that...

Japan Dips its Toe in the Taiwan Strait

Wenran Jiang March 2, 2005
China might not be an "outpost of tyranny," but the new Bush foreign policy team again considers the Asian giant a strategic competitor, writes political scientist Wenran Jiang. Concerns over China's military development and heightened aggressiveness towards Taiwan have led the United States to reassess its previous conclusion that China posed no serious threat to the global...