In The News

Time to Strengthen the IAEA

Ernesto Zedillo August 7, 2008
The International Atomic Energy Agency established an 18-member commission chaired by Ernesto Zedillo, director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, to reflect on how the nuclear future might unfold, what the world is likely to demand of the IAEA, and what steps must be taken to allow the agency to fill those needs. The result of the commission’s deliberation was presented to the...

CIA Outlines Pakistan Links With Militants

Mark Mazzetti August 5, 2008
Pakistan is a leading partner in the US war against terrorism, but some US officials have produced evidence of disturbing links between Pakistani intelligence officials and militants responsible for violence in Afghanistan, particularly the network of Maulavi Jalaluddin Haqqan. “The C.I.A. has depended heavily on the ISI for information about militants in Pakistan, despite longstanding concerns...

Revisiting the “Axis of Evil” – Part III

Shen Dingli August 5, 2008
For more than a half a century, nuclear powers have built enormous stockpiles of weapons in the hope that it would deter military challenges. The same nations have also strenuously tried to prevent others from breaking into the five-member club of nuclear-weapons power. This three-part series examines the US effort at containing three suspected aspirants, called the “Axis of Evil” by President...

Texas Execution Plan Defies Hague Order

Suzanne Goldenberg August 5, 2008
The International Court of Justice, as the principal legal body of the United Nations, is expected to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by member states. But the state of Texas in the US insists the court does not have jurisdiction over the case of José Medellín, charged with the 1993 brutal rape and murder of two teenagers and since convicted and...

Revisiting the “Axis of Evil” – Part II

Scott Snyder July 31, 2008
North Korea was a thorn in the side of the US long before President George Bush labeled the nation as a member of an “axis of evil,” along with Iraq and Iran, in his January 2002 State of the Union address. This three-part series analyzes the US approach to Iran and North Korea, and in the second article, Asia analyst Scott Snyder reviews the history of North Korea’s antics and crises since 1992...

Trade Talks' Failure Weighs on Other Issues

Bob Davis July 31, 2008
The collapse of the Doha trade talks suggest that the motivation for global cooperation is waning. The goal of the Doha round was to eliminate special subsidies and tariffs on agricultural products to boost economies of the world’s poorest nations. WTO rules require that all 153 members reach consensus on such trade decisions. But the emerging economies of China and India looked to protect their...

After 7 Years, Talks on Trade Collapse

Stephen Castle July 30, 2008
In 2001, world leaders set a goal of lifting trade restrictions to improve efficiency and decrease poverty in developing nations – and so the Doha Round of World Trade Organization negotiations began. But over the seven years, the divide between developing and developed nations became more pronounced, and the US, India and China could not agree on measures to protect farmers in developing...