In The News

Averting 9/11: How Close We Came

Faye Bowers March 25, 2004
Collecting accurate intelligence and building strategic alliances with front line states in Asia and the Middle East are quickly emerging as the indispensable tools for preventing future terrorist attacks. In the on-going 9/11 hearings in Washington, high ranking officials from the Clinton and the current Bush Administrations agree to the inherent difficulties in taking forceful action against...

A Year After Iraq War: Mistrust of America in Europe Ever Higher, Muslim Anger Persists

March 16, 2004
According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, a year after the Iraq War global public opinion is heavily against the United States. In Pew's nine-country study, researchers discovered that even in the UK - a stalwart ally of the US in the war on terror and the Iraq War - public sentiment has turned more critical. Majorities in Russia, Germany, and France believe their national...

After the Train Bombs, a Political Bombshell

March 15, 2004
The ruling People's Party in Spain lost yesterday's election to the opposition Socialists – a result that would have been unthinkable just a week ago. Last Thursday's train bombings, which killed 200 people and wounded almost 1500 more, disrupted all political predictions. As evidence emerged that the bombings may have been planned by al-Qaeda-related operatives and not Basque...

Alarm Raised Over Quality of Uranium Found in Iran

Craig S. Smith March 11, 2004
Iran is back in the spotlight for its alleged nuclear weapons program, and this time the international pressure to dismantle will be strong. United Nations nuclear inspectors have found traces of extremely highly enriched uranium in Iran, of a purity reserved for use in a nuclear bomb. Iran claims that its military had indeed enriched uranium but only to create unsophisticated models for use by...

Growing Vulnerability of Seaports from Terror Attacks

Michael Richardson March 5, 2004
Global trade is heavily dependent on shipping, with hundreds of port cities worldwide offering open doors to goods from other countries. Unfortunately, writes Michael Richardson, this same openness allows terrorists the possibility of bringing into the target country devastating means of attack – from high-explosives to radiological bombs, even nuclear devices. Al-Qaeda used a cargo vessel to...

Bush Signals Patience on North Korea is Waning

Glenn Kessler March 4, 2004
Proof of "complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement" (CVID) of North Korea's nuclear weapons programs is what President Bush and his team of aides wanted for last week's six-nation talks on the North Korean nuclear crisis. But given North Korea's intransigence on the subject, that wish failed to come true as the talks finished, and it may not be realized for...

Bush Envoy Briefs Panel After Talks on A-Bombs

David E. Sanger March 3, 2004
More insights into North Korea's nuclear program were offered to the US Senate this week by James A. Kelly, President Bush's chief negotiator at the 6-way talks just concluded in Beijing. In his testimony, Kelly suggested that North Korea may have been working to produce new atomic bombs even while negotiating with the US on the possibility of suspending its program. Kelly also said...