In The News

Iran's Security Dilemma

George Perkovich October 27, 2003
Thanks to the deal that three EU foreign ministers struck with Iran last week, Iran's nuclear program will be more open to outside observers from the UN's atomic watchdog agency. But, says nonproliferation expert George Perkovich, it isn't clear whether the deal will satisfy Iran's fiercest critic - the US. Rather, he argues, the US and Iran want more than a simple nuclear...

Coming Clean or Playing for Time?

October 23, 2003
Iran will allow a tougher UN nuclear inspection regime to confirm that it is not attempting to build nuclear weapons. Issuing a declaration that Iran says outlines all of its nuclear activities, the country aims to fend off economic sanctions promoted by the United States. Skeptics argue, however, that Iran is only buying time with an extraordinarily vague and voluntary agreement. In fact, says...

Coming Clean or Playing for Time?

October 23, 2003
Iran will allow a tougher UN nuclear inspection regime to confirm that it is not attempting to build nuclear weapons. Issuing a declaration that Iran says outlines all of its nuclear activities, the country aims to fend off economic sanctions promoted by the United States. Skeptics argue, however, that Iran is only buying time with an extraordinarily vague and voluntary agreement. In fact, says...

Pyongyang Derides US Treaty Offer

October 22, 2003
The North Korean government is calling a US pledge not to invade North Korea a 'laughing matter'. US President George W. Bush had earlier offered the isolated communist country a written guarantee that the US and four other countries would not attack North Korea if Pyongyang agreed to give up its nuclear weapons development program. "We have demanded that the United States drop...

Iran to Suspend Uranium Enrichment Programme

Mohsen Asgari October 21, 2003
Bowing to pressure from the US and other nations, Iran has announced that it will suspend nuclear enrichment for "an interim period" to help "create a new atmosphere of trust and confidence between Iran and the international community". Meeting with the foreign ministers of France, Germany, and the UK, a top Iranian official also said that Iran would sign an additional...

The Bigger Problem: Weapons of Individual Destruction

Raenette Taljaard October 15, 2003
The American hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has turned up little so far, but in the meantime coalition soldiers and Iraqi civilians continue to be victims of armed violence. By ignoring the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, says Raenette Taljaard, a member of the South African Parliament, the international community is failing millions of people around the world....

Intelligence Puzzle: North Korean Bombs

David E. Sanger October 14, 2003
As US President George W. Bush prepares to depart for a meeting with Asian leaders next week, more concern is being raised by new intelligence on North Korea's nuclear program. While the United Nations' atomic energy agency believes Pyongyang has produced two nuclear weapons in recent months, US officials are less certain about how to interpret the available data. Although tell-tale...