In The News

Sharm El Sheikh & al-Aqaba: New Emperor to Reap Conquest

Kareem M. Kamel June 2, 2003
This article by Kareem Kamel on Islam Online maintains that the upcoming summits at Sharm El Sheikh and al-Aqaba will deal only with furthering US diplomatic aims in the region. Amidst continuing resentment over Iraq and powerful tensions between Palestinian and Israeli leaders, current diplomatic moves by the US will result in continued polarization between pro-US Arab nations and anti-Israeli-...

Russia Joins the US in Tackling North Korean Challenge

Alexander Lukin June 2, 2003
By joining its voice with the US condemnation of North Korea's nuclear weapons program, Russia is making a mid-course correction of its policy toward the Korean peninsula that is designed to preserve its influence. Russian scholar Alexander Lukin posits four reasons why Moscow is in a good position to help bring about a peaceful settlement with North Korea and end the crisis. First,...

Preemption an Option for EU

Elise Kissling May 30, 2003
A proposed new EU military doctrine identifies weapons of mass destruction as the major threat to EU security.. The new doctrine, if adopted, could authorize preemptive strikes against potential enemies, much like the "Bush doctrine" formulated by Washington last year. Despite opposing the US-led war on Iraq – which Washington claimed was necessary due to the imminent threat of Saddam...

Nuclear Confrontations with North Korea

William Perry May 28, 2003
Speaking in a panel discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, William Perry, the former Secretary of Defense of the Clinton administration, said that the Korean Crisis of June 1994 was the only period during the Clinton presidency when the US came close to a major war. That was also the time the US took a diplomatic initiative to peacefully resolve the...

U.S. Eyes Pressing Uprising in Iran

Glenn Kessler May 25, 2003
After the bombings in Saudi Arabia, the U.S. has started contemplating plans to reform Iran in order to eliminate possible Al Qaeda links and Iran's own nuclear programs. While some Pentagon officials have supported the idea of a popular uprising to destabilize the current Iranian government, the State Department doubts the level of discontent within the country that is needed for such an...

North Korea Is Said to Export Drugs to Get Foreign Currency

James Dao May 21, 2003
In order to increase the country's foreign currency reserves, North Korea has been exporting large quantities of drugs to foreign countries, a North Korean defector told lawmakers in Washington, DC. American intelligence officials believe that a big proportion of the money has been used to finance the country's nuclear programs, as well as production of traditional weapons, which...

Crimes Under Flags of Convenience

Michael Richardson May 19, 2003
The Sept. 11 attacks on the US may have awakened the world to the dangers of a passenger airliner being turned into a missile, but in malevolent hands a much more traditional mode of transport - a ship on the oceans - could be turned into dangerous tool. On the high seas, ships registered under flags of cash-strapped nations operate with very little oversight or regulation. As Singapore-based...