In The News

America Goes Backward

Stanley Hoffman June 27, 2003
After the war in Iraq, the US Bush administration is once again criticized by many. In this feature article in the New York Review of Books, Harvard scholar Stanley Hoffmann argues that not only has the administration's unilateralism resulted in anti-Americanism overseas, but also domestic concerns of justice issues, among others. Furthermore, seeing itself as the world's peacekeeper,...

The Selling of the Iraq War

John B Judis June 25, 2003
The first casualty of the Iraq War was intelligence agencies, particularly the CIA, says this article in the New Republic. Another casualty, albeit facing a slower death, may prove to be America’s trust in the decisions of their leaders. According to this article, the Bush Administration misrepresented information about weapons programs, fabricated terrorist links, and suppressed internal...

Insecurity Drives WMD Proliferation – ElBaradei

Roula Khalaf June 23, 2003
After Iraq, Iran has become the new focus in the Middle East. With the US insisting that Iran has been active in building weapons of mass destruction (WMD), UN weapons inspection teams have been called upon to verify the allegations. Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says a twofold measure is necessary to effectively diffuse the crisis. While continuing...

2 Nuclear Weapons Challenges, 2 Different Strategies

David E. Sanger June 21, 2003
The U.S. has warned both Iran and North Korea that nuclear weapons programs will “not be tolerated”. But Washington is pursuing differing strategies with each country. With North Korea, which admits it already has weapons and is developing more, the Bush Administration is attempting to cut off development by slowing imports and exports. With Iran, which maintains that its program is peaceful and...

Preempting North Korean Threat in the Sea

Michael O'Hanlon June 20, 2003
In recent months, the United States has struggled to halt North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Now, the Bush Administration has proposed a “Proliferation Security Initiative” designed to cut off the communist country's trade in illicit weaponry and material. This is a worthy multilateral effort, argue Brookings Institution scholars Michael O'Hanlon and Michael A. Levi, but its...

Rumblings in Iran

William Safire June 19, 2003
In recent weeks, Iran has seen a wave of student-led protests against the country’s theocratic leadership. The uprising has similarities to protests of several decades ago that led to the fall of Iran’s Shah, and it is this historical precedent, argues New York Times columnist William Safire, that should lead the rest of the world to take today’s demonstrations seriously. For the US to engage or...

Cracking Down on the Terror-Arms Trade

David E. Sanger June 15, 2003
As part of the war on terrorism, the US is watching closely international shipments of weapons. Although just a few months ago Washington permitted a missile shipment from North Korea to proceed to its Yemeni destination, the US is now adapting a strategy of "pre-emptive pre-emption." America is asking its allies to help stop shipments of weapons, drugs, and hard currency connected to...