In The News

Valentinas Mite September 25, 2004
Since the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, the Bush administration's strategic interest in Central Asia has grown significantly. The region now represents another arena in which the "war on terror" must be waged. Yet the growing influence of the US in Central Asia has alarmed Russia and China, who consider the region their backyard. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO),...
September 24, 2004
This past Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer joined his counterparts in Brazil, Japan, and India in announcing their intention to seek permanent UN seats. Germany's case to join the five permanent members on the Security Council seems compelling: According to Fischer, Germany, in addition to providing substantial funding, contributes the second-largest number of troops to UN...
Eric Lipton September 23, 2004
Website hosting companies in the US have become the unwitting carriers of terrorist information. Since web postings are hard to trace and can be removed at will, many terrorist groups now use the internet to disseminate information, including specific instructions for carrying out kidnappings and bombings. US prosecutors have begun a controversial campaign to track down - via hosting companies...
Jonathan Freedland September 22, 2004
When Bob Dole was running for US President, he once dismissed a Finnish reporter's questions of by saying, "No votes in Leipzig." Dole's sense of geography may have been lacking, but his sense of who was important to his campaign was, at the time, perfectly on target: Only American voters' opinions would count come Election Day 1996. Back then, only Americans bore the...
Henry Sokolski September 22, 2004
World leaders continue to debate the most effective way to prevent development of Iran's nuclear arsenal. Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, argues that the international community must now also address an even more ominous threat of nuclear proliferation throughout the Middle East. This will require instituting - and enforcing - strict rules...
George Monbiot September 21, 2004
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was founded with noble intentions, but today this same agency is badly misguided, says author George Monbiot. The initial hope was that nuclear fission would solve the world's problems by creating alternative energy sources. According to IAEA statutes, non-nuclear countries were supplied the essentials for creating nuclear power, to be used...
Jonathan Power September 20, 2004
Contrary to popular Western belief, free elections in largely Muslim states would not lead to domination by violent terrorist regimes, argues columnist Jonathan Power in this Khaleej Times article. Indonesia and Turkey are shining examples of Muslim nations that have used the democratic system to oust militants and put stable moderates in office. With an increasingly freer media, the governments...