In The News

Will We Just Watch Upcoming U.S. Sanctions Against N. Korea?

February 17, 2003
Will a U.S. plan for sanctions against North Korea further sour the two country’s relationship? Even after South Korean opposition to economic sanctions forced the U.S. to scale back its plan, it is possible that a proposed ban on the trade of weapons and narcotics will inflame North Korea, which has denounced sanctions as an act of war. Still, part of the current situation stems from a lack of...

From New York to Melbourne, Protest Against War on Iraq

Robert D. McFadden February 16, 2003
In what may be the largest, most diverse worldwide peace protest since the Vietnam War, millions of people protested against a war on Iraq. Under the umbrella organization United for Peace and Justice, protests were coordinated worldwide in many major cities, including one which saw thousands turn out in below freezing temperatures in New York. – YaleGlobal

Negotiation Offers Hope in Nuclear Containment

Daniel Sneider February 16, 2003
As the global frenzy over Iraq reaches its boiling point, the Bush administration has downplayed the threat of nuclear weapons in North Korea. Capitalizing on US distraction, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is apparently building up a nuclear stockpile, perhaps to later sell to improve a weak North Korean economy. Daniel Sneider argues that in minimizing the North Korean problem, the US has...

The Righteous War

Immanuel Wallerstein February 15, 2003
What is really behind the Bush administration’s big push to wage war on Iraq? Is it about removing a tyrant hell-bent on using his weapons of mass destruction? Or is it a US move to gain more control over the oil resources in the Middle East? Sociologist theorist Immanuel Wallerstein argues that both of these interpretations are flawed. The motivation to go war, he says, is really about...

Threat Erodes Japan’s Pacifism

Doug Struck February 15, 2003
After decades of constitutional restrictions on offensive forces, Japan has reopened a national debate about the military. As part of its surrender after World War II, Japan agreed to dismantle its armed forces and since then has largely relied on the United States for military support. In the past few months, however, nervous defense ministers have quietly begun to rebuild the military in...

Franco-German Shot at US Punctures Dream of European Power

Shada Islam February 14, 2003
The status of the US as 'the leader of the free world' has come under threat again this week, but the US may not be the only one to get hurt. In an unprecedented challenge to American leadership in NATO, France, Germany, and Belgium vetoed a US proposal to create contingency plans for Turkey. To do so, they claim, would be tantamount to conceding to Washington's desire to wage...

North Korean Threat Exaggerated

Ivan Oelrich February 14, 2003
Current American assumptions of North Korean missile capabilities are based upon the monitoring of North Korean missile tests, and scientist Ivan Oelrich believes that it is incorrect to make the assumption that North Korean missiles could reach the United States. North Korea has yet to demonstrate this capability, and looking at its known missiles, will find it very difficult to obtain such...