In The News

North Korean Fighter Intrudes on South’s Airspace

Don Kirk February 20, 2003
The entry into South Korean airspace by a North Korean fighter plane raises already-high tensions between the United States and North Korea. The timing of the maneuver, as well as its route, seems to imply a deliberate act on the part of North Korea to remind the U.S. of its military capabilities. North Korea’s decision to pull out of the armistice treaty, along with the reactivation of its...

Saddam Urged to Make an Exit

Mahmoud Ahmad February 18, 2003
There has been speculation about persuading Saddam Hussein to go into exile to avoid a war. However there is no official confirmation about such a move. A leading Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadh has now called on the Iraqi leader to ward off US attack by stepping down from power. The paper said that it would be ’a wise and even heroic decision’ and would help erase the previous moral and legal...

The Godfather’s War

Amira Howeidy February 17, 2003
Former Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, who shot to international fame during the oil embargo of 1973, says that a US-led war on Iraq would be about everything but weapons control. US president George Bush’s true motivations, Yamani said, are controlling world oil supplies, ensuring Israel's survival and political gain, and winning a second term in the Oval Office....

The Righteous War

Immanuel Wallerstein February 15, 2003
What is really behind the Bush administration’s big push to wage war on Iraq? Is it about removing a tyrant hell-bent on using his weapons of mass destruction? Or is it a US move to gain more control over the oil resources in the Middle East? Sociologist theorist Immanuel Wallerstein argues that both of these interpretations are flawed. The motivation to go war, he says, is really about...

U.S. Hackers Told to Leave Iraq Alone

February 14, 2003
The FBI is telling Americans not to hack into and sabotage Iraqi websites. There is a possibility that such patriotic hacking could backfire, doing more harm to U.S. computer systems than to Iraqi systems. Nationalistic ‘cyber wars’ launched by patriotic citizens of one country against websites of other countries are increasing, and the U.S. is now drawing up guidelines to deal with them. In...

Franco-German Shot at US Punctures Dream of European Power

Shada Islam February 14, 2003
The status of the US as 'the leader of the free world' has come under threat again this week, but the US may not be the only one to get hurt. In an unprecedented challenge to American leadership in NATO, France, Germany, and Belgium vetoed a US proposal to create contingency plans for Turkey. To do so, they claim, would be tantamount to conceding to Washington's desire to wage...

Escaping North Korea’s Nuclear Trap

Nancy Soderberg February 12, 2003
Nancy Soderberg, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, reviews the history of U.S. negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear program. In each case, direct negotiations have led to North Korean compliance, suggesting that the Bush administration’s most viable option in resolving the current crisis is to negotiate bilaterally with North Korea once again, and offer incentives such...