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| Current Topic: International Relations |
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North Koreans Celebrate Birthday of 'Dear Leader' |
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| Topic: International Relations |
12:14 pm EST, Feb 17, 2003 |
Since foreign visitors were barred from entering local villages today, the government staged a peppy musical performance by the Pyongyang Youth Brass Band, an all-female group attired in outfits that looked like a style collision between Maoist Red Guards and the Dallas Cowboys' cheerleaders. "We are living in affluence, so we don't expect anything special." It's nice that the kids get the day off for President's Day. North Koreans Celebrate Birthday of 'Dear Leader' |
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Europe's Groundswell: Public Opinion |
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| Topic: International Relations |
11:23 am EST, Feb 17, 2003 |
France has staked out a position on Iraq in opposition to the American one. But it has also been nervous about the rise of strong anti-French sentiment in the United States. The French ambassador to Washington, Jean-David Levitte, has been trying to assure the American public that France is a loyal ally grateful for American help in the world wars of the last century. Where is the evidence of "strong anti-French sentiment"? (More simply, where is the evidence of any sentiment about France?) It seems more like a sentiment of indifference about France. Europe's Groundswell: Public Opinion |
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Anti-Americanism in Korea [PDF] |
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| Topic: International Relations |
5:19 pm EST, Dec 27, 2002 |
Anti-Americanism is growing at a startling rate in South Korea, potentially escalating into a serious problem that could jeopardize the future of the U.S.-Korean alliance. Anti-American sentiments have now spread into almost all strata of Korean society, ranging from the policymaking elite in the government and the intellectuals to members of the middle class and the younger generation. Beyond its overall increase, the sources of anti-Americanism have become more complex and diverse. Unless Washington and Seoul work together on a course of action to counter this trend, these popular Korean attitudes could become a critical wildcard harming the future of the U.S.-Korean relationship. Anti-Americanism in Korea [PDF] |
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British Dossier on Iraq's WMD |
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| Topic: International Relations |
5:16 am EDT, Sep 24, 2002 |
Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Assessment of the British Government Tony Blair: It is unprecedented for the Government to publish this kind of document. But in light of the debate about Iraq and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), I wanted to share with the British public the reasons why I believe this issue to be a current and serious threat to the UK national interest. British Dossier on Iraq's WMD |
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Bush's National Security Strategy |
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| Topic: International Relations |
7:11 pm EDT, Sep 20, 2002 |
Following is the full text of President Bush's new national security strategy. The document, entitled "The National Security Strategy of the United States," will soon be transmitted to Congress as a declaration of the Administration's policy. This is required reading if you want to understand the how and why of the next year-plus in international affairs. Bush's National Security Strategy |
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Countering al Qaeda [PDF] |
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| Topic: International Relations |
9:14 pm EDT, Sep 9, 2002 |
This monograph reviews events since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and discusses the current state of al Qaeda and the kinds of actions that can be expected of it in the future. Al Qaeda constitutes the most serious immediate threat to the security of the United States, so the campaign against terrorism must remain focused. The monograph describes the central elements that must be emphasized in the next, more-complex phase of that campaign. Countering al Qaeda [PDF] |
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Public Diplomacy: A Strategy for Reform | CFR |
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| Topic: International Relations |
9:52 pm EDT, Jul 31, 2002 |
The Council on Foreign Relations has issued this report calling for changes in US "public diplomacy." A consensus is emerging, made far more urgent by the war on terrorism, that US public diplomacy requires new thinking and decision-making structures that do not now exist. We must make clear why we are fighting this war and why supporting it is in the interest of other nations as well as our own. Because terrorism is considered the transcendent threat to our national security, it is overwhelmingly in the national interest that the United States formulate and manage its foreign policies in such a way that the war on terrorism receives the indispensable cooperation of foreign nations. We must make clear the US government's commitment to public diplomacy as a central element in US foreign policy. Significant reform is urgently needed to bring strategic planning, focus, resources, and badly needed coordination to this effort. Public Diplomacy: A Strategy for Reform | CFR |
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Bush to Create Formal Office To Shape US Image Abroad |
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| Topic: International Relations |
9:48 pm EDT, Jul 31, 2002 |
The Bush White House has decided to transform what was a temporary effort to rebut Taliban disinformation about the Afghan war into a permanent, fully staffed "Office of Global Communications" to coordinate the administration's foreign policy message and supervise America's image abroad, according to senior officials. The office will add "thematic and strategic value," along with presidential clout, to the efforts of the State Department. The State Department has begun producing "mini-documentaries on Muslim life in America" to air on satellite stations in the Middle East. Bush to Create Formal Office To Shape US Image Abroad |
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Russian arms at risk from terrorists |
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| Topic: International Relations |
6:41 pm EDT, Jul 28, 2002 |
The US government ... has great trouble moving beyond puny measures where a poorly defended collection of nerve gas canisters in Siberia is concerned -- a collection that could kill each person on the planet 46 times. The government already has officials whose job descriptions include pestering scientists around the country not to publish information about their research methods in certain fields of study out of the nonspecific worry that it might fall into the "wrong" hands. However, the government has enormous difficulty making an effort to get into any of four former biological weapons sites in what used to be the Soviet Union -- places terrorist networks have known about for years in frightening detail. [Discussion of the Nunn-Lugar program ... ] The biggest successes have involved strategic nuclear weapons, but great gobs of chemical, biological, tactical nuclear, and conventional submarines capable of carrying cruise missiles remain on the agenda. The miracle is that to date nothing has been stolen or sold to a terrorist network and that no scientist on the edge of poverty has succumbed to the financial incentives from those networks and rogue nations to turn traitor. The best illustration of why this has got to stop may be found in Siberia, [where Russians are storing] 1.9 million small canisters of VX and sarin nerve gas. Each canister contains enough gas to kill 180,000 people. Thomas Oliphant's column in today's Boston Globe. I've blogged about Nunn-Lugar before; my purpose here is to point out that there are much more pressing concerns in this arena than the hypothetical misuse of a _Science_ article. Who needs a recipe when you've got McDonald's? Russian arms at risk from terrorists |
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