In The News

The “Secret Plan” Ploy

Walter Wells October 20, 2006
News of violent deaths and chaos continues to pour out of Iraq, and analysts increasingly compare the struggle and politics to Vietnam. The wars in Vietnam and Iraq have many obvious differences, but both wars diminished global respect for the US and hampered its ability to resolve more pressing crises. With no sign of improvement or stability in Iraq, it’s no secret that the Bush administration...

US and China Urge North Korea to Return to Talks

Thom Shanker October 20, 2006
Both China and the US call for North Korea to return to Six-Party Talks and hash out a plan to end North Korean nuclear research. The US secretary of state traveled to Japan, China, South Korea and Russia, urging a multilateral effort in putting a halt to any attempt by North Korea to trade nuclear wares. China, once reticent about imposing harsh measures on its destitute neighbor, has...

The Planet in Peril – Part I

Jim Hansen October 19, 2006
The evidence on global warming is overwhelming. Ongoing scientific research reveals that human-induced climate change will contribute to dangerous new weather patterns and rising sea levels that will gradually swamp many coastal cities, displacing millions of people over the next century. Jim Hansen, director of NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, explores the implications of global...

The Globalization Index

Paul Laudicina October 19, 2006
The impacts of globalization and roads to integration are almost as varied as the number of countries in the world. “Foreign Policy” and the A.T. Kearney consulting firm have released the sixth annual ranking of 62 countries based on their degree of globalization. The analysis focuses on categories of economic integration, personal contact, technological connectivity and political engagement....

A Clash of Civilizations in Europe?

Patrick Sabatier October 17, 2006
Secular Europe and some of its Muslims citizens continue to clash – not in direct battle but over cartoons, operas, newspaper essays and school customs. The clashes are a product of a globalized media system, according to French journalist Patrick Sabatier, with instant information about any perceived slight to faith over satellite television or internet obscuring complex issues and provoking...

Sensible Ideas on Why to Engage Tehran

Rami G. Khouri October 17, 2006
Since the end of the Cold War, the US has led the international effort to encourage global security and nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. The US unabashedly has used regime change and an array of diplomacy to promote arms control and democracy. But the tools have failed when it comes to Iran and North Korea and their nuclear programs. Even the most hawkish voter in Texas understands the US...

Turkish Novelist Orhan Pamuk Wins Nobel

Hillel Italie October 13, 2006
When the Nobel Committee in Stockholm announced its decision to honor Orhan Pamuk with the Prize for Literature on Thursday morning, outpourings of praise for the Turkish novelist and his moving, lyrical work came from all over the world. But one set of congratulations was notable for its absence: those of Pamuk’s own government. Turkey has been fighting Pamuk over the past years, indicting him...