In The News

North Korea Is Said to Export Drugs to Get Foreign Currency

James Dao May 21, 2003
In order to increase the country's foreign currency reserves, North Korea has been exporting large quantities of drugs to foreign countries, a North Korean defector told lawmakers in Washington, DC. American intelligence officials believe that a big proportion of the money has been used to finance the country's nuclear programs, as well as production of traditional weapons, which...

After the Bombing, Reflections

Abeer Mishkhas May 20, 2003
Now that bombs have finally reached Saudi Arabia's own capital, the illusion that the Kingdom could not be a target has disappeared. Abeer Mishkhas argues in this Arab News article that ignorance is what has led to prejudice and hatred, and that "if ignorance is removed, the evils can be conquered." A more tolerant teaching philosophy that educates the children to think...

Crimes Under Flags of Convenience

Michael Richardson May 19, 2003
The Sept. 11 attacks on the US may have awakened the world to the dangers of a passenger airliner being turned into a missile, but in malevolent hands a much more traditional mode of transport - a ship on the oceans - could be turned into dangerous tool. On the high seas, ships registered under flags of cash-strapped nations operate with very little oversight or regulation. As Singapore-based...

A Bombing Shatters the Saudi Art of Denial

Neil MacFarquhar May 18, 2003
Until the recent car bombings in Riyadh linked to Islamic fundamentalist group Al-Qaeda, Saudi Arabia’s rulers, the Al-Sauds, had been able to keep up a pretty good balancing act. It seemed they were able to maintain absolute political control while they negotiated with religious leaders the rights to control over the country's social life. However, alarmed now by the terror at home, Saudi...

Is It Legal to Stop North Korea’s Nuclear Exports?

David E. Sanger May 18, 2003
As the first round of negotiations with North Korea ended without positive results, the US is considering other strategies to deal with the nuclear crisis in Northeast Asia. The hawks in the Bush administration have come up with the "quarantine" solution, which will put North Korea in an isolated position, allowing only food into the country. They also advocate interdictions of North...

Suicide Bombings Are Condemned in Saudi Mosques

Steven R. Weisman May 17, 2003
US officials have linked the deaths of 34 people in three car bombings in the Saudi capital of Riyadh to Islamic fundamentalists, namely Bin-Laden's Al-Qaeda network. Akin to the scenario after 9/11 when Muslims around the world defended Islam as a religion that does not preach violence, Saudi Imams and laymen alike condemn the bombings as "criminal acts." However, most view the...

Iran's Secret Quest for the Bomb

Leonard S. Spector May 16, 2003
Another spat between the US and the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) may be brewing. When the agency's board meets next month, Washington hopes to get it to strongly condemn Iran for its clandestine effort to develop nuclear weapons - something that the agency is reportedly loath to do. In this article, non-proliferation expert Leonard S. Spector explains the background....