In The News

China's Iron Grip

Fred Hiatt October 10, 2006
The experience of Rebiya Kadeer, a 60-year old Chinese woman, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and critic of the regime in China, demonstrates the growing brazenness of that government in its retaliation against dissent. Released after six years in prison, Kadeer was exiled to the United States, only to find herself under surveillance by Chinese agents after she became involved with pro-democracy...

North Korea’s Nuclear Gamble

Shim Jae Hoon October 10, 2006
A nuclear test by North Korea has plunged East Asia in a new crisis and brought worldwide condemnation, the strongest being from Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe supports drafting a resolution calling for tougher sanctions under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which authorizes the use of military force should North Korea disregard the UN. Although highly critical of North Korea, China,...

Time for the N word

Amira Howeidy October 9, 2006
Two decades ago, after the Chernobyl disaster, Egypt abandoned its nuclear program. But oil prices are on the rise and the government offers generous subsidies for its citizens. So, the government explores options and reports the country could have a nuclear power plant online in 10 years. Some analysts suggest that the government is in a hurry to proceed with nuclear development and does not...

Al Qaeda's Far-Reaching New Partner

Craig Whitlock October 5, 2006
Salafists are Islamic fundamentalists who advocate living by the original intent of the Koran, and since the 1990s, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) has pressed for a strict Islamic government in secular Algeria. GSPC splintered from a more radical group, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), which killed thousands of Algerian civilians throughout the 1990s and insisted that any...

Software Being Developed to Monitor Opinions of US

Eric Lipton October 5, 2006
It’s no secret that world opinion of the US has hit a low point. So the US Department of Homeland Security is funding university research to develop software and monitor negative opinions expressed in foreign newspaper accounts. The agency will rely on the analysis “to identify potential threats to the nation,” explains journalist Eric Lipton. Spies traditionally rely on reading newspapers to...

Ottoman Ghosts: Turkey in the Middle East

Matein Khalid October 5, 2006
The Turkish Parliament’s decision to send troops to the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon is a milestone event, according to banker Matein Khalid. Since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, Turkey’s policies and politics have largely distanced the secularized country from the Arab world. On one hand, the Turkish prime minister refused to let the US use Turkish bases to invade...

A Path to Global Disarmament

Hans Blix October 5, 2006
With North Korea threatening to test a nuclear weapon and openly blast its way into the nuclear club, the world is at a dangerous crossroads. The world community must craft careful responses to the states that are determined to become nuclear powers, writes Hans Blix, chairman of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission. History has shown that incentives work better than threats. The...