In The News

Washington Needs a Roadmap to Peace in North Korea

Larry A. Niksch February 21, 2003
Despite persistent reluctance from China, Russia, and South Korea, the US has continued to call for a multi-lateral effort to dissuade North Korea from expanding its nuclear program. Why are these countries - North Korea's closest neighbors - dragging their feet on addressing the issue? Because, writes Larry Niksch, the US has yet to spell out exactly what negotiations with North Korea...

U.S. Combat Force of 1,700 is Headed to the Philippines

Eric Schmitt February 21, 2003
Within days, the United States plans to deploy troops to the Philippines in order to "disrupt and destroy" the extremist group Abu Sayyaf. The Abu Sayyaf, with its goal of establishing Islamic states across Asia, has been aided in the past by terrorists across the world, including Osama Bin Laden. The latest US move shows that the war on terrorism is truly a global effort. – YaleGlobal

North Korean Fighter Intrudes on South’s Airspace

Don Kirk February 20, 2003
The entry into South Korean airspace by a North Korean fighter plane raises already-high tensions between the United States and North Korea. The timing of the maneuver, as well as its route, seems to imply a deliberate act on the part of North Korea to remind the U.S. of its military capabilities. North Korea’s decision to pull out of the armistice treaty, along with the reactivation of its...

Weapons That Disable Circuitry May Get First Use in Iraq

Seth Schiesel February 20, 2003
Along with a host of smarter, more powerful bombs and planes, the United States is preparing a new type of weapon for war in Iraq: the directed-energy device. The devices use microwaves to disable anything digital and could destroy, for example, computerized Iraqi control centers. The US, with its computer-dependent military, is especially vulnerable to these weapons, however, and terrorist...

Why Unity Is Essential

Zbigniew Brzezinski February 19, 2003
The bedrock of the alliance with NATO that supported the US for the past half century may be in jeopardy. Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former National Security adviser of President Jimmy Carter, says that the sharp differences with NATO and accompanying vitriol have led to grave doubt about American intentions toward the Atlantic alliance. Some Europeans, he says, are beginning to believe that the...

The Godfather’s War

Amira Howeidy February 17, 2003
Former Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, who shot to international fame during the oil embargo of 1973, says that a US-led war on Iraq would be about everything but weapons control. US president George Bush’s true motivations, Yamani said, are controlling world oil supplies, ensuring Israel's survival and political gain, and winning a second term in the Oval Office....

US Planning Sanctions Against North Korea

James Dao February 17, 2003
Despite claims by Washington just last week that it was not seeking sanctions on North Korea, officials now say that the US military and State Dept. are detailing plans for international sanctions against Kim Jong Il’s regime if his country takes further steps towards building nuclear weapons. The measures would include provisions for stemming remittances from North Koreans living abroad as well...