In The News

Truck Bomb in Chechnya Kills at Least 36 and Wounds Scores

Steven Lee Myers May 12, 2003
The continuing separatist movement in the southern region of Russian territory certainly suggests that the breakup of the Soviet Union over 10 years ago is not quite over. Chechen rebels, fighting for independence from the Russian state, claim that the Russians are denying their right to sovereignty over their own nation, while Russian officials consider the rebels to be a fringe terrorist...

Korea’s New Wave

Suki Kim May 10, 2003
North Korea and South Korea have vastly different political systems and economies, and occupy distinct positions in world politics. Yet in recent years, people in North and South Korea seem to be share a growing resentment towards American involvement in Korean affairs. In spite of the apparent ‘Americanization’ of South Korea, most South Koreans believe that American involvement has impeded a...

In the Absence of Will

Ibrahim Nafie May 9, 2003
The rapid success of the US in the Iraq War shocked many in the Arab world, says this article in Egypt's Al-Ahram Weekly. But what are the lessons to be learned? Commentator Ibrahim Nafi writes that Arab unity cannot emerge by simply updating old agreements. What's required, he says, is genuine, active engagement with the needs of Arab people as a whole, and that must start with...

U.S. Suspects North Korea Moved Ahead on Weapons

David E. Sanger May 8, 2003
In North Korea, the US finds itself in the opposite situation that it faced in Iraq. In his article The New York Times writer notes the irony.: "The government of Saddam Hussein insisted it held no weapons, and Mr. Bush is seeking to prove that it did. In North Korea, the government is boasting of a major program, in hopes of winning a negotiating advantage — or threatening American allies...

The Fallout from the Iraq War

Barry Rubin May 7, 2003
During the Iraq War, media reports on American 24-hour news networks mainly reflected the views of US journalists 'embedded' with the US military. In the Middle East, however, Arab-language networks such as Al-Jazeera presented a starkly different image and interpretation of how things were going on the ground. Middle East scholar Barry Rubin writes that regional media led Arab...

Europe's Identity Crisis

Steven Erlanger May 5, 2003
Europe's left wing has given the right a boost. Popular liberal fears of Americanization and "coca-colonization" have fostered the belief that individual cultures are in danger of extinction. And France's extreme right is exploiting this pervasive anxiety in the current presidential elections. Though Jacques Chirac is sure to win ultimately, the neo-fascist Jean-Marie Le...

Bush Shifts Focus to Nuclear Sales by North Korea

David E. Sanger May 5, 2003
The US foreign policy towards North Korea appears to have shifted from deterrence to preventing the export of nuclear materials and technology to countries or international terrorist groups. This policy shift might be due to the lack of international support for US military action in North Korea. It may also be due to the difficulty of obtaining accurate information about North Korea’s claim to...