In The News

Transatlantic Thaw Can Help Taiwan

David Huang April 21, 2004
Leading up to Taiwan's presidential election last month, China was hoping to make the most of out the apparent rift between the US and Europe. According to David Huang, a researcher at Taiwan's most influential think tank, China had attempted to exploit the transatlantic disagreement over war in Iraq in order to bolster its designs on Taiwan. Engaging in a joint naval exercise with...

US Attempt at Domination Hobbled by Contradiction

Michael Kraig April 19, 2004
Critics point to the war in Iraq and President Bush's subsequent denial of reconstruction contracts to dissenting nations as proof of Washington's hegemonic tendencies. However, argues security expert Michael Kraig, the Iraq War is just the latest manifestation of a US foreign policy that has been deeply contradictory since the fall of the Berlin Wall. During the Cold War, a...

Rocking the Boat from Warsaw

Ian Traynor April 19, 2004
Even though it won't become a full EU member until May 1, Poland has been stirring up controversy and posing challenges to other member states. As recently as last December, Poland blocked adoption of a new EU constitution, arguing that a proposed re-structuring of voting rights would mean that the terms of its accession were altered after it had already joined. As the months since have...

Terrorist Chemical Threat 'Worse than Suspected'

Mark Huband April 11, 2004
Small groups of chemical weapons experts uncovered in Europe appear to have a wide network of links. Two separate groups, one arrested in a Paris suburb by French counter terrorism officials and the other uncovered by British intelligence, are both reported to have received chemical weapons training in Chechnya, Russia's breakaway republic. The group arrested in France is said to have links...

'The World Stood by for Too Long'

April 8, 2004
Around the world, commemoration of the ten year anniversary of the Rwandan genocide has taken a variety of turns. Some, particularly within the US and Europe, have used the opportunity to recognize that the failure to intervene was a profound failure of foreign policy. To some, however, "Never again" rings empty after 800,000 people were killed in 100 days. Others, in Africa...

Australia's Greedy Oil Deals in East Timor

April 1, 2004
Ownership and control of the rich gas fields in the East Timor Sea – the subject of recent bilateral discussions between Australia and East Timor – provides a "harsh" but valuable lesson in international relations, says this editorial in Thailand's The Nation. Australia played a critical role in ending violence in East Timor and in ensuring the country's independence from...

A Million Yassins?

Amira Howeidy March 26, 2004
Egypt was the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, but the future of diplomatic relations between the two countries now looks shaky. Israel’s assassination last Monday of Hamas founder and prominent Palestinian, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, has set off zealous anti-Israel reactions among Egyptians. An estimated 50,000 university students protested at major Egyptian cities, and even those who...