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Don’t Exaggerate Iranian Threat

May 25, 2006
Most world powers want to prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons. Yet at the same time, those opposed to Iran nuclear capability cannot resort to unrealistic fears. For example, US policy should not focus narrowly on the threat that nuclear Iran poses for Israel. Without nuclear weapons, a...

New Prison Images Emerge

May 6, 2004
The shocking images that have emerged from Iraqi prisons, showing American and British soldiers abusing and humiliating prisoners, have created a "combustible international scandal". The photos, taken with the digital cameras that soldiers brought with them to communicate with families...

Last Chance for Bush to Repair Relations With Islamic World

November 15, 2006
A trip to Asia leads US President George Bush’s travel agenda after the mid-term election – and gives him a chance to renew US ties with Asia. The invasion of Iraq and the war on terror have distracted US leaders from Asia Pacific affairs and the growing influence of China. US influence in the Asia...

Japan to Launch Carbon Footprint Labeling Scheme

August 22, 2008
Japanese consumers take environmental protection into account while choosing products, even suggesting in surveys that they don’t mind spending extra to purchase environmentally-friendly products. So the Japanese government has devised an intricate system to calculate and inform consumers on labels...

Inflows to the East are a Problem Too

April 20, 2004
While Western Europe worries about droves of people pouring across their borders from the newest members of the European Union, immigration into Eastern Europe goes unnoticed. But there are already signs that countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Hungary are shifting from states of...

China Filling Void Left by West in UN Peacekeeping

November 27, 2006
Joining the UN in 1971, modern China did not become active in peacekeeping efforts until after the conclusion of the Cold War. But as a rising economic power, China increasingly contributes to more UN peacekeeping efforts, particularly in Africa, a center for Chinese trade deals and foreign...

Japan-Korea Spat Complicates US Task in Asia

March 16, 2015
A history of conflict and modern-day political differences divide Japan and South Korea. “This presents a significant obstacle for the US which is looking to coordinate between its allies in the Asia-Pacific in order to add heft to the Obama administration rebalancing strategy,” writes J. Berkshire...

Whither Arab Independence?

November 27, 2002
What does America's effort to clamp down on Iraq mean for the Middle East as a whole? According to historian and Islamic scholar Basheer M Nafi, the US-led, UN-sanctioned weapons inspection project is simply another attack on the already brittle sovereignty of Arab nation-states. Writing in...
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