In The News

Poverty Doesn't Create Terrorists

Alan B. Krueger May 29, 2003
In his National Security Strategy issued in November 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush asserted that poverty was one of the factors leading to increased terrorist activities. This article in the New York Times, however, argues that civil liberty is the main factor and that wealth has little to do with terrorist activities. The author cites a study which found that many suicide bombers were from...

Nuclear Confrontations with North Korea

William Perry May 28, 2003
Speaking in a panel discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, William Perry, the former Secretary of Defense of the Clinton administration, said that the Korean Crisis of June 1994 was the only period during the Clinton presidency when the US came close to a major war. That was also the time the US took a diplomatic initiative to peacefully resolve the...

The War on Terror Requires Subtler Weapons

Daniel Byman May 26, 2003
As the "war on terrorism" continues, the U.S. and its allies find it increasingly difficult to eradicate terrorist groups. With much of al-Qaeda's senior leadership still alive, and with new sites emerging as potential "training grounds" for terrorists in various corners of the world – Chechnya, Kashmir, the Chinese province of Xinjiang, Indonesia, etc. – it has become...

U.S. Eyes Pressing Uprising in Iran

Glenn Kessler May 25, 2003
After the bombings in Saudi Arabia, the U.S. has started contemplating plans to reform Iran in order to eliminate possible Al Qaeda links and Iran's own nuclear programs. While some Pentagon officials have supported the idea of a popular uprising to destabilize the current Iranian government, the State Department doubts the level of discontent within the country that is needed for such an...

Terrorism Needs 'New Definition'

Gwynne Dyer May 24, 2003
This opinion piece in the Jakarta Post by Gwynne Dyer, a columnist based in London, argues that "since we're going to have to live with it (terrorism) for a long time, we need to get both the numbers and the strategy into perspective." He notes that the numbers – 153 dead in one week from terrorist bomb attacks across the world – are nothing compared to the thousands who die every...

Amid the Leaks

Khaled Dawoud May 23, 2003
There is heated speculation and investigation around the recent bombings in Saudi Arabia and Morocco. For the US, as this article shows, these bombings can have many implications. During its "war of Liberation" in Iraq, Al-Qaeda was believed to be relatively inactive, and the Bush administration recently commended itself for arresting key Al-Qaeda operatives. But confirmed and suspected...

We've Seen This Situation Before

Mark Turner May 21, 2003
Almost a decade ago half a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred in Rwanda through a "state-sponsored genocide." Recent reports of ethnic killings in the northeastern part of Congo have international observers fearing a repeat of Rwanda. But this time the UN seems determined not to have the international community be mere bystanders, and already efforts to form a sizeable...