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BEIJING – Two high-profile envoys of the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, have arrived in China amidst hopes that their visit could lead to a substantive dialogue with the Chinese government after tentative behind-the-scenes contacts in recent months. The Dalai Lama is said to seek assurances from Beijing that it would not … Continue reading “Dalai Lama’s Overtures to Seek Tibet Solution”

Iran’s Nuclear Program In 2002 Iran announced plans to build six nuclear power stations. As a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran can buy and operate centrifuges and other equipment needed for enriching uranium as long as it only uses the devices for nuclear power. NPT rules require that inspectors from the International … Continue reading “An End to Ambiguity: US Counter-Proliferation from Tel Aviv to Tehran”

"Have they all drunk the Kool-Aid?" asked a former CIA colleague, referring to the stampede to appoint a new director and radically restructure the intelligence community. The Kool-Aid allusion was to the "groupthink" that led disciples of self-anointed "messiah" Jim Jones to mass suicide via poisoned Kool-Aid in 1978. Attorney General John Ashcroft warned on … Continue reading “Gossing Over the Record”

BRUSSELS – The European Union and some of its largest member states have reaffirmed their support for Iraq this week under the gaze of Iraq’s interim President Ghazi al-Yawar and amid rising tensions in the country. Top European Union (EU) officials have offered their support – both financial and political – for Iraq during a … Continue reading “Iraqi President Finds Friends in Europe”

NABLUS – The narrow streets amid the breeze-block shacks of the Balata refugee camp on the edge of the large West Bank City of Nablus have been a focus of Palestinian militancy throughout the current Intifada (uprising) that was triggered four years ago. Balata is the birth place of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the … Continue reading “Hezbollah Active Among Palestinians”

In Hegemony or Survival, Noam Chomsky suggested that our leaders, facing the choice in the book’s title, might well opt for hegemony over survival. “There is ample historical precedent,” he wrote, “for the willingness of leaders to threaten or resort to violence in the face of significant risk of catastrophe. But the stakes are far … Continue reading “Hegemony or Survival?”

After weeks of hurricanes and controversies over swift boats in Vietnam and Texas and Alabama National Guard records, Iraq is beginning to creep back onto the front pages, and the news is uniformly bad. Consider some of the headlines in major newspapers that appeared on their front pages on Wednesday alone: Wall Street Journal: "Rebel … Continue reading “Growing Consensus That Iraq Is Hopeless”

CARACAS – Spain took a step aimed at smoothing relations between Bogota and Caracas by canceling the sale of 40 French-made AMX-30 tanks to the Colombian government. If the sale had gone through, the tanks’ guns would likely have pointed toward the Venezuelan border. This week, however, a new snag emerged in bilateral relations, with … Continue reading “Spanish Tank Sale Called Off, but Colombia-Venezuela Tension Remains”

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations is reluctant to impose punitive economic sanctions on Sudan – accused of genocide in the politically troubled province of Darfur – because embargoes have a relatively poor track record, according to senior UN officials and diplomats. "If the Security Council wants to punish Sudan," says one Third World diplomat, … Continue reading “UN Reluctant to Push Sanctions for Sudan”

Even as people throughout Iraq continue to suffer from severe shortages of water, electricity and other crucial services, including the health care resources needed to treat the resulting illnesses, the Bush administration on Wednesday officially proposed to shift money away from the reconstruction effort toward internal security, the oil industry, "economic development" in Iraq’s private … Continue reading “US Occupation Shuffling Money Before Flushing It”