In The News

Should South Korea Pursue Nuclear Arms?

Bennett Ramberg March 29, 2013
South Korea and the United States confront a dilemma in responding to erratic threats from impoverished, nuclear-armed North Korea. South Korea ranks among the top 15 largest economies, while the North is dysfunctional. In recent weeks North Korea has test-launched a long-range missile, criticized China’s response to the launch, severed all communications with South Korea, and threatened...

Peace Deal for Turkey

Mohammed Ayoob March 25, 2013
Promised rapprochement between Kurdish rebels and the Turkish government has implications for the Middle East, particularly Syria, Iraq and Iran, nations that also have sizable Kurdish minorities concentrated in contiguous regions. Jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan issued a statement on the Kurdish New Year, calling for an immediate end to hostilities against the Turkish state, without...

EU Fails to Speak With One Voice on Syria

Joshua Chaffin March 19, 2013
The Syrian rebels are outgunned and the bloodshed continues. European leaders have disagreed how to bring the civil war in Syria to swift, humane conclusion. France and Britain want to end an arms embargo for opposition groups, particularly moderates; Germany resists. A compromise emerged Monday, with the EU allowing security advice, but not actual arms transfer. Such arguments underscore the...

Thais Seek Peace With Homegrown Muslim Rebels

Eric Randolph March 1, 2013
The government of Thailand has agreed to hold unprecedented peace talks with Muslim rebels who have been waging a separatist struggle in the country’s southern provinces for decades. Journalist Eric Randolph describes recent violence in Thailand’s southern provinces, not very far from beaches popular among western tourists. Yet the local conflict has not captured much international attention,...

Mali Islamists Seize Town Amid French Intervention

February 7, 2013
France has launched military intervention in Mali, a former colony, with the hope of rousting extremists who control most of the northern half the country. France also asked the UN Security Council to convene as the Mali military is flailing to maintain control. Despite strikes by French warplanes, militants took control of Diabaly. “Rebels of the al-Qaeda-linked Movement for Oneness and Jihad in...

Europe in North Africa – Recolonize or Rescue?

Jonathan Fenby January 23, 2013
Amid a severe currency crisis and other economic struggles, cooperation of the European Union, the very union itself, is being tested with the rise of Islamist radicalism in North Africa. France has forcefully intervened to assist Mali troops against extremists who have taken over the northern half of the country, demonstrating a willingness to attack civilians, destroy cultural icons and lash...

The Al Qaeda Menace in Africa

Bruce Riedel January 21, 2013
Throughout 2011, protests that came to be known as the Arab Spring swept through Northern Africa and the Middle East. NATO stepped in on the Libyan protests, restricted to civilian protection. But the US gave a nod to Qatar sending machine guns, ammunition to rebels in the Libyan rebels; France provided guns and grenades, too. Because of looting and trade, weapons intended for rebels and civilian...