In The News

Weapons That Disable Circuitry May Get First Use in Iraq

Seth Schiesel February 20, 2003
Along with a host of smarter, more powerful bombs and planes, the United States is preparing a new type of weapon for war in Iraq: the directed-energy device. The devices use microwaves to disable anything digital and could destroy, for example, computerized Iraqi control centers. The US, with its computer-dependent military, is especially vulnerable to these weapons, however, and terrorist...

North Korean Fighter Intrudes on South’s Airspace

Don Kirk February 20, 2003
The entry into South Korean airspace by a North Korean fighter plane raises already-high tensions between the United States and North Korea. The timing of the maneuver, as well as its route, seems to imply a deliberate act on the part of North Korea to remind the U.S. of its military capabilities. North Korea’s decision to pull out of the armistice treaty, along with the reactivation of its...

US Planning Sanctions Against North Korea

James Dao February 17, 2003
Despite claims by Washington just last week that it was not seeking sanctions on North Korea, officials now say that the US military and State Dept. are detailing plans for international sanctions against Kim Jong Il’s regime if his country takes further steps towards building nuclear weapons. The measures would include provisions for stemming remittances from North Koreans living abroad as well...

The Godfather’s War

Amira Howeidy February 17, 2003
Former Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, who shot to international fame during the oil embargo of 1973, says that a US-led war on Iraq would be about everything but weapons control. US president George Bush’s true motivations, Yamani said, are controlling world oil supplies, ensuring Israel's survival and political gain, and winning a second term in the Oval Office....

Will We Just Watch Upcoming U.S. Sanctions Against N. Korea?

February 17, 2003
Will a U.S. plan for sanctions against North Korea further sour the two country’s relationship? Even after South Korean opposition to economic sanctions forced the U.S. to scale back its plan, it is possible that a proposed ban on the trade of weapons and narcotics will inflame North Korea, which has denounced sanctions as an act of war. Still, part of the current situation stems from a lack of...

Negotiation Offers Hope in Nuclear Containment

Daniel Sneider February 16, 2003
As the global frenzy over Iraq reaches its boiling point, the Bush administration has downplayed the threat of nuclear weapons in North Korea. Capitalizing on US distraction, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is apparently building up a nuclear stockpile, perhaps to later sell to improve a weak North Korean economy. Daniel Sneider argues that in minimizing the North Korean problem, the US has...

The Righteous War

Immanuel Wallerstein February 15, 2003
What is really behind the Bush administration’s big push to wage war on Iraq? Is it about removing a tyrant hell-bent on using his weapons of mass destruction? Or is it a US move to gain more control over the oil resources in the Middle East? Sociologist theorist Immanuel Wallerstein argues that both of these interpretations are flawed. The motivation to go war, he says, is really about...