Afghanistan is clearly in a very difficult situation. There is a resurgent Taliban (actually a heterogeneous conglomeration of insurgents with varying motivations and loyalties) and a people tired of war and skeptical of the the US effort, a skepticism skillfully exploited by the Taliban. The...
The Economist, In the current issue, features a bold cover; a setting sun; a U.S. military salute to flag-draped coffin and the stark title: Afghanistan: The growing threat of failure. In the January 6, 2007 issue, The Economist wrote this about Afghanistan's opium crop...
IntroductionThe two main Peruvian rebel groups, both leftist, are the Maoist group Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) and the Cuban-inspired Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru). Both organizations operated most forcefully in the 1980s and early 1990s, when Peru's government fought a costly war...
IntroductionJapan, a parliamentary democracy, has been dominated by a single party governing by itself or in coalition with others for nearly all of the last half century. But falling popularity of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), an economy in decline, and growing public dissatisfaction with...
The decision by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to appoint a special prosecutor to review past CIA interrogations revives robust debate over whether such a move is healthy or harmful to the United States in its counterterrorism efforts. In his statement explaining why a...
IntroductionSince establishing diplomatic ties in 1951, China and Pakistan have enjoyed a close and mutually beneficial relationship. Pakistan was one of the first countries to recognize the People's Republic of China in 1950 and remained a steadfast ally during Beijing's period of international isolation in...
IntroductionColombia, one of the closest U.S. allies in Latin America, has been ravaged for decades by a civil war pitting left-wing guerrilla groups against right-wing paramilitary organizations. The two predominant rebel groups-the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (known by its Spanish acronym, FARC) and the...
Campaigning for Afghanistan's presidential election is in its final crescendo ahead of the August 20 vote, with citizens just witnessing the unusual spectacle of a nationally televised debate that featured sharp criticism (RFE/RL) of incumbent Hamid Karzai. Yet whether Karzai retains power, analysis from Western...
8/12/2009 The 'West-Bankization' of Israel? by Ori Nir Special to WJW Israelis were recently appalled by reports of sadistic hazing in the Israel Defense Forces' tank corps. Israeli newspapers uncovered routine patterns of beating, lashing, severe humiliation and other forms of brutal behavior toward...
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Have we gone back in time? Russian bombers shadow U.S. naval vessels in the Pacific; Russian naval vessels patrol in the Caribbean, and once again, nuclear attack submarines are off the coast of the Eastern seaboard. The two "Akula" subs came as close as 200...
IntroductionChina and Taiwan, while in practice maintaining a fragile "status quo" relationship, periodically grow impatient with the diplomatic patchwork that has kept the island separate from the Communist mainland since 1949. After losing the civil war to Communist Chinese and fleeing to Taiwan in 1949,...
IntroductionPart of the UN system, the 60-year-old World Health Organization (WHO) is the world's designated leader for global health issues, particularly in the developing world. At the same time, the WHO's mandate is limited because it can only recommend, not enforce, specific health policies. The...
As outlined in the earlier posting on Addressing Global Warming: Water, potential impacts of global warming range from minimal to catastrophic. Prudence requires that we address these challenges; a key objective is to make our response systems more resilient without major expenditures. This will be...
IntroductionAfrica is widely considered among the world's most corrupt places, a factor seen as contributing to the stunted development and impoverishment of many African states. Of the ten countries considered most corrupt in the world, six are in sub-Saharan Africa, according to Transparency International, a...
Bill Clinton's dramatic mission to secure the release of two American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee following North Korea's harsh verdict regarding their unauthorized entry into North Korea has succeeded on multiple fronts, based on criteria for success I offered yesterday: 1) the visit...
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A former U.S. president visits Pyongyang to break the stalemate at a time of rising tensions over North Korea's nuclear program. This sounds like déjà vu, but the twist is that the mission is a purely "private" one to secure the release of two American...
Authors
- Richard Andres
- Linda Bishai
- Tim Brown
- James Jay Carafano
- Christopher Chivvis
- Sam Cohen
- Walton Cook
- Ed Corcoran
- Ralph Cossa
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Gareth Evans
- Nikolas K. Gvosdev
- Brian Michael Jenkins
- Stephen Larrabee
- Arthur G. Martirosyan
- Mackenzie Eaglen
- Ali Nader
- Aram Nerguizian
- Ori Nir
- Jim Phillips
- RSIS
- Paul Saunders
- David Schenker
- Ghassan Schbley
- Mark Schneider
- Daniel Serwer
- George Smith
- Scott Snyder
- Alexander Thier
- Rosemary Freitas Williams
- Elizabeth Zolotukhina
