In The News

Indo-US Nuclear Deal is Problematic

George Perkovich September 9, 2005
The controversial civil nuclear cooperation deal signed by Indian and US leaders in July has sounded alarm bells around the world. George Perkovich, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wades through the fallout of the pact, critically assessing the ramifications of revised Indo-US nuclear relations. Perkovich argues that the strategic premises underlying...

Russia and China Together Again, Gingerly

Yu Bin September 6, 2005
Beginning August 18, China and Russia embarked on an unprecedented military collaboration: an eight-day joint war game, named "Peace Mission 2005." Though officials of the two countries claimed the drills were for "anti-terrorist" goals, writes scholar Yu Bin, the exercises were "certainly oversized and of overkill capacity for any anti-terrorist operation."...

Sensiblement, le rapprochement russo-chinois se precise

Yu Bin September 6, 2005

Creating Islamist Phantoms

Adam Curtis August 30, 2005
In a Guardian commentary, Adam Curtis writes that it was a mistake, in the wake of 9/11, for the West to exaggerate the status of al-Qaida by painting a hyperbolic picture of an organized and far-reaching terrorist network. Curtis suggests that the true threat came not from a sophisticated network, but from individuals and groups linked by an idea. After the London bombings, many experts seem...

Osama's Endgame Approaches

John R. Bradley August 26, 2005
What goes around may, indeed, come around in Osama bin Laden's ongoing terrorist campaign, whose past and future boil down to one Middle Eastern nation. "Osama's descent into specifically anti-American global terrorism can, in fact, be traced back to his falling out with the Saudi ruling family," writes John R. Bradley. And, he continues, due to the failure to establish...

Schooled For a House of Islam

Noor Huda Ismail August 25, 2005
In analyzing the motives of terrorists who act in the name of global jihad, it is important to understand why many Muslims choose to lead partially secular lives – while others with the same education and background embrace extremism and violence. Educated in one of Indonesia's many Islamic schools, Noor Huda Ismail describes how many of his classmates opted to join a radical movement, Darul...

Russia and China Rattle Sabers with Joint War Games

Tom Parfitt August 19, 2005
Russia and China recently began a series of joint military exercises, marking the countries' first cooperative military action. Officials on both sides explained that the collaboration was designed to protect against international terrorism and provide security for the region and the world. Some analysts believe there are some ulterior motives, but one thing is clear: Russia and China are...