In The News

Australians Wake Up to Risks of Air Travel

Ross Peake September 13, 2003
The Australian government is considering subsidizing decoy systems to protect against missile attacks on its commercial airliners. The move comes in the wake of government reports that such an attack is more likely than a traditional hijacking. At least 24 terrorist organizations are said to possess shoulder-launched missiles. Terrorists have already fired the weapons at an Israeli charter plane...

Lonely at the Top

Clyde Prestowitz September 13, 2003
Although the US experienced an outpouring of sympathy from much of the world after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, over the past two years it has encountered much resistance to its leadership on issues from Iraq to free trade. The US has lost any goodwill it received after the attacks, says former Reagan administration official and author Clyde Prestowitz, because Washington has pursued a...

China Space Program Makes US Anxious

Joshua Eisenman September 12, 2003
China plans to launch a man into space and eventually land on the moon. While such pursuits aim at heightening national pride and legitimizing the communist party's rule, they also spread fears over China's underlying intentions. Putting a man in space would confirm not only China's technological advance, but also its military capabilities, missile technology in particular. While...

Taliban Officials Tell of Plans to Grind Down the Americans

David Rohde September 12, 2003
Taliban fighters still alive in Afghanistan plan to wage a grinding guerilla war against US troops, similar to the strategy waged against the Soviets during their occupation in the 1980s. Such fighters claim that Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar still resides in Afghanistan, hidden and directing operations. Fighters also foresee growing support for their cause as a result of the lack of...

Two Years on, ASEAN Breaks Terrorism’s Deadly Lock

Daljit Singh September 11, 2003
In the two years since the September 11 attacks on the US, Southeast Asian nations have taken significant steps to eliminate terrorism, despite the serious obstacles that they must contend with. Many governments have struggled to crack down on terrorism and maintain relations with Muslim groups. For example, Thailand and Indonesia have made some headway with the recent arrests of Al-Qaeda and...

Foreign Views of US Darken Since Sept. 11

Richard Bernstein September 11, 2003
The world largely reacted with sympathy after the terrorist attacks on the US two years ago. Nonetheless, this feeling of solidarity and cooperation shifted to anger and resentment, especially after the US war in Iraq, which was conducted without large global support. As these brief interviews in the New York Times reveal, people around the world believe the Bush administration’s decision to go...

China Girds for Wider Influence in Asia

Frank Ching September 6, 2003
Last month's meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization demonstrated China's growing influence across Asia. Following 9/11, this six-nation group, which also includes Russia and many Central Asian countries, agreed to establish a regional antiterrorism center in Uzbekistan. The reason for this move may have been strategic. Ever since the country agreed to host US troops engaged...