In The News

North Korea Says It Seeks to Develop Nuclear Arms

David E. Sanger June 10, 2003
North Korea is a step closer to its goal of becoming a nuclear state, as it announced for the first time that it would develop nuclear weapons. This is at a time when the U.S. has organized some of its Pacific allies to track and inspect North Korean ships for weapons, drugs, and other illegal shipment. The question right now is what other countries should do once Pyongyang officially announces...

Pressure Alone Will Not Deter Iran from Its Nuclear Path

George Perkovich June 9, 2003
Iran apparently has been seeking to develop nuclear weapons, but it can still be dissuaded from its dangerous course, writes George Perkovich, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Despite Iran's inclusion in US President Bush's 'Axis of Evil', Perkovich believes that with subtle but substantive diplomacy from the US, Tehran could be...

US May Put Naval Blockade on North Korea

Andrew Ward June 9, 2003
US undersecretary of state for arms control, John Bolton, told the media last week that the Bush administration was discussing with its allies a possible naval blockade on North Korea, mainly in order to cut off its weapon exports. It is very possible that this measure, if adopted, will also halt the export of other illegal products such as drugs. Since weapons technology and illegal exports have...

Japan Adopts Laws Strengthening Military Powers

Howard W. French June 7, 2003
As tensions mount in North Korea, the Japanese Parliament has passed a series of war contingency bills that increase the power of the government to use military force in a time of emergency. These bills represent the first major expansion of Japanese military power; the treaty ending WWII had reduced its military to a self-defense force that often facilitates US efforts. The laws have sparked a...

Truths and Consequences

Bruce B. Auster June 6, 2003
As the War on Iraq has come to an end and no weapons of mass destruction (WMD) have yet been found, many people are now questioning the accuracy of American intelligence. In the past several months, says this article in the U.S. News and World Report, there have been heated discussions on how credible intelligence information is even within the U.S. government. The Vice-President and the hawks in...

US Makes New Plans for War on Pyongyang

Shane Green June 4, 2003
This article in the Sydney Morning Herald reports that the US is developing a new plan to consolidate American and South Korean forces in areas away from the demilitarized zone in the Korean Peninsula. A US official told reporters that the U.S. military would be able to line up around the demilitarized zone if war broke out, and this would be "Kim Jong-Il's worst nightmare." Deputy...

Hands-on Diplomacy

June 3, 2003
Although tensions remain between the US and many of its European allies, it appears that US President George W. Bush is slowly backing away from the notion that American might makes right, says this Mercury News editorial. Despite continued unilateral action in Iraq, Bush has begun utilizing diplomacy to achieve his foreign policy ends in other areas, including courting China and Russia's...