In The News

Containing the Fire in Syria

Ryan Crocker July 23, 2013
The urge to do something, anything, to stem the bloodshed in Syria is intense. Ryan Crocker served as US ambassador to six countries including Syria, 1998 to 2001. Now a Kissinger senior fellow at Yale University, he reviews the history and explains how the civil war in Syria began well before the Arab Spring protests. In 1982, the Assad regime decimated the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood in Hama and...

Phone-Tracking Program Defended in US Government Letter

Larry Neumeister July 23, 2013
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit on a US intelligence program that collects, tracks and stores telephone-record megadata, The US defended the program in a letter to a federal court by pointing out the program – was “approved” and “rigorously overseen” by the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government – has been successful in preventing terrorist attacks. “The...

India’s NSA Announces Cybersecurity Cooperation With Private Sector

July 22, 2013
India is considering closer collaboration with the private sector and other nations on cybersecurity, reports The Hindu, which covers the report “Recommendations of Joint Working Group on Engagement With Private Sector on Cyber Security.” Indian officials suggest that the internet could be described as a global commons and that requires global cooperation. One official noted that India has “...

Vietnam Between Rock and a Hard Place

David Brown July 18, 2013
Vietnam, intent on modernization for its 92 million people, vacillates between China and the United States for economic and military ties. Both great powers expect the small communist country to acquiesce to specific demands: The US wants improved human rights and democratic freedoms while China seeks capitulation on its claims of sovereignty over the South China Sea. Either stance fuels...

The Arab Spring: Has It Failed?

July 16, 2013
A quest for democracy has been underway in North Africa and the Middle East since 2010. Supporters of democracy for the region may assume that the Arab Spring movement is doomed, with a military coup that deposed Egypt’s elected president and civil war raging in Syria, suggests an essay in The Economist. Critics may blame Islam, the predominant religion, and suggest that modern authoritarianism...

As Asia Rises, New Challenges Emerge

Barry Desker July 11, 2013
Asia’s economic rise came amidst a period of peace and stability, explains Barry Desker, dean of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. “If Asia heads towards a period of conflict and uncertainty, with rising tensions in the South China Sea and East China Sea or the threat of nuclear conflict in East Asia, resources will be diverted to strengthening defense capabilities and foreign...

Egyptian Coup Splits Middle East

Dilip Hiro July 11, 2013
Massive protests on Egyptian streets, followed by a swift military coup, have underscored confusion in the region. Syrian leaders, struggling with their own insurrection, relying on support from the Islamist government in Iran, have suggested that religion is no basis for governance; Iran, after crushing opposition protests in 2009, urged Egypt’s protesters to resist frustration. Some US...