In The News

Save Pakistan to Save Us All

Gautam Adhikari January 12, 2009
Pakistan has been an epicenter for hatching terrorist plans, from the 9/11 attacks to the series of bombings in Mumbai, as well as the proliferation of nuclear know-how. After a long list of schemes originating in Pakistan, Gautam Adhikari argues that the international community can’t afford to regard the problem as regional or blame the people: “An unstable and economically desperate Pakistan...

Gauging Sri Lanka's Inroads in Battle Against Tigers

Anuj Chopra January 9, 2009
The island nation of Sri Lanka, off the coast of India, has been wracked by civil war for more than 25 years. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam seek an independent political state for ethnic Tamils, who make up about 18 percent of the country’s population. The government broke off a ceasefire in early 2008, and has since waged a yearlong military offensive, starting the year 2009 by reporting...

Why Iran Seeks Nuclear Weapons

Arch Roberts Jr. January 8, 2009
With the US at war in bordering Iraq and Afghanistan, with Israel invading the Gaza Strip, any quest by Iran for nuclear weapons does not seem so outlandish. Iran insists its uranium-enrichment program is for peaceful purposes, but by sending rockets to its proxies, Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon, to cause harm to Israel, it has not proved peaceful intentions. The success in its...

The Struggle for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia

Togzhan Kassenova January 8, 2009
Some countries want nothing to do with nuclear weapons, and that’s particularly true of former Soviet satellites that were subjected to numerous nuclear tests during the Cold War. A treaty on a nuclear-weapon-free-zone in Central Asia, agreed to by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, 10 years in the making and signed in 2006, is about to come into force. “The...

Foreign Envoys Gather in Middle East

Ulrike Putz January 6, 2009
Diplomacy requires trust – that opponents will be forthright about their motivations and keep their word about future actions. An utter lack of trust, based on years of experience, is on display with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Complicating the matter is the political transition for the US, as the Bush administration ends and the Obama administration prepares to begin. The international...

Gaza 2009 – To Win, All Israel Has to Do Is Survive

Bradley Burston January 2, 2009
In response to rockets fired from Hamas, Israel has bombed targets in Gaza, including a strike on the home of leader Nizar Ghayan. The Islamic group, whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel, won a majority in 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections, but the unity government with Fatah fell apart in summer 2007. “Terrorism itself, and the ideology of Hamas, has come home to kill the...

Six-Party Standstill

December 18, 2008
Five nations have worked for years, trying to convince North Korea to give up on a nuclear-weapons program. “Success will inevitably remain out of reach,” argues the Economist, and that’s because “the regime has no intention of ever halting its nuclear activities.” The only reason that major powers like China, the US, Russia and Japan pay much attention to North Korea is because of its weapons...