In The News

Three Faces of Globalization

Franklin L. Lavin April 30, 2003
US President Bush and Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong met in Washington to sign a bilateral free trade agreement between the two countries. This will contribute to the opening up of barriers to economic globalization and, as Franklin Lavin, US ambassador to Singapore, points out, improve existing cross-border cooperation in the construction of barriers to two other facets of globalization...

When Diplomacy Flunks

Ernesto Zedillo April 28, 2003
Ernesto Zedillo, former President of Mexico and current Director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, discusses his hopes and fears in light of US unilateral action in Iraq. He fears that this war will be a prologue to a new international order defined by aggressive US unipolarity. If this is the case, he says, “Sooner rather than later, even old friends acting alone, or perhaps...

Blast Rocks Jakarta's Airport

April 28, 2003
It does not appear that international efforts to prevent terrorist attacks have had much effect in Southeast Asia. A recent bombing of the International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia follows several prior attacks on high profile public places, including an attack on a United Nations office in Jakarta. Although security has been tightened around such public venues, the perception remains that no...

American Power Moves beyond the Mere Super

Gregg Easterbrook April 27, 2003
US success in Iraq shows US military supremacy that is virtually unmatched in the world today. The US has highly sophisticated weapons technology, superior reconnaissance satellites, and the highest military spending of all NATO countries combined. Recent battles in Iraq and Afghanistan serve as both, learning opportunities for US troops and also testing grounds of new US technology....

Syria Harbors Iraqis and Grants Transit to Hezbollah, U.S. Asserts

Don Van Natta Jr. April 15, 2003
US Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has accused Syria of allowing members of Saddam Hussein’s family and former leadership circle to cross the border into Syria, and members of Hezbollah to cross the other way into Iraq. Both Syria and Hezbollah deny the accusations, but the US is applying pressure because it believes Hezbollah has plans to attack American interests in the region, and...

Clinton Calls on Bush to Make Deal with North Korea

Marisa Helms April 14, 2003
"Former President Bill Clinton says he agrees with the Bush administration's fight against terrorism. But, he said it's North Korea, not Iraq that poses the biggest threat with its weapons of mass destruction." Clinton also declaims the Bush administration's tax cut proposal. Clinton proposes a comprehensive US foreign policy toward North Korea that would deter the...

French Islam Wins Officially Recognized Voice

Elaine Sciolino April 14, 2003
As part of a national project to create what Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has called "an official Islam of France," delegates from mosques throughout the country voted for members of a new council that would officially represent France’s five million Muslims. Mr. Sarkozy said that organizing France's Muslims is the way to fight "the Islam of cellars and garages that has...