In The News

North Korea's Neighbors Keep Friendly Tone

Evan Ramstad July 8, 2006
The world is alarmed by the test launch of seven missiles by North Korea, yet South Korea and China decline to issue a tough response. Instead South Korea reaffirms its “sunshine” policy and China reasserts its “friendly” relations with its neighbor to the east. In the United Nations, meanwhile, China and Russia were the only two states on the Security Council to oppose a Japan-sponsored...

Can Nouri al-Maliki Deliver Peace?

Bernhard Zand July 6, 2006
With a background beyond reproof and mastery of the rhetoric that has been most effective in post-Saddam Iraq, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki bears the weight of his country’s hopes, along with those of the US, on his shoulders. His plans for a peaceful and united Iraq, described by some analysts as courageous, have even enticed some insurgent groups into the political process. But his...

China's Brutal Crackdown on Dissidents

Andreas Lorenz July 5, 2006
In the name of economic development, many Chinese citizens find themselves forced from their land and homes for construction of dams, roads or other projects. Added to the displacement are paltry offers of compensation and corruption, funneling the gains of China’s “economic miracle” away from its poorest people. The conflicts invite protest, but, as many of the country’s “difficult citizens”...

Defiant North Korea Fires Seventh Test Missile

Justin McCurry July 5, 2006
North Korea has test-fired several missiles, asserting sovereignty over its weapons program, and the UK, France, NATO, China, Russia Japan, the US and South Korea have united in speaking out against the tests. The UN Security Council discusses the issue today. One of the tests was a long-range missile that either failed or was aborted by North Korea. Some speculate that, despite North Korea’s...

A Nuclear Hand of Friendship

Vinod Khosla July 4, 2006
India is not a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; its first nuclear tests were conducted after the treaty’s 1967 deadline, and it is not formally recognized as a nuclear power. Because India will unlikely submit its reactors to the NPT guidelines without such recognition, Vinod Khosla sees the agreement between that country and the US as a positive way to draw India into the...

The Perils of Underestimating Ahmadinejad

Simon Tisdall July 3, 2006
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not an easy foe for the US, and it would be a mistake to underestimate him as a “wildman” or “loose cannon.” Even as Ahmadinejad has let loose with extremist statements that are alarming, his political power is based on real concerns of the Iranian people. Despite the widespread perception that he is a mouthpiece for religious clerics, Ahmadinejad’s...

Dealing With Terrorists: Sometimes Talking Is the Lesser Evil

Martin Griffiths July 3, 2006
Using dialogue to find political solutions to conflicts involving “terrorist groups” has largely been discounted in the arena of international diplomacy, writes the director of the Center for Humanitarian Dialogue. Reasons for discarding this approach are threefold: By resorting to violence, terrorist groups forfeit their right to dialogue; engagement could legitimize the terrorists’ tactics; and...