BANGKOK One of Asia's most colorful monarchs, Cambodia's King Norodom Sihanouk, has plunged his country into a constitutional crisis following Thursday's announcement that he is abdicating. The 82-year-old king's decision was revealed on the day he was due back...
Russia-Venezuela Alliance Takes Flight
CARACAS - The Venezuelan army plans to acquire 40 Russian helicopters within the next few months in the first step towards a new "strategic alliance" with Moscow promoted by President Hugo Chávez, who is further marking his distance from Washington....
Saudi Democratization to Include Women?
DUBAI - When conservative Saudi Arabia announced last year that it would hold partial municipal elections in which people for the first time could vote directly, the reaction of many in and out of the country was nothing less than shock. Now reform-minded activists...
Bush Aides Backtracking on Iraq
How to understand the sudden outbreak of candor among Bush administration officials (or former officials) about Iraq in the past couple of days? In the vice presidential debate on Tuesday evening, Dick Cheney said, "I have not suggested there's a connection...
EU Threatens Burma With More Sanctions
BANGKOK - The showdown between Burma's military regime and the European Union (EU) at this weekend's meeting of Asian and European leaders has propelled into one that could damage the EU's stature if Rangoon does not blink. As it is, the stakes have never been higher....
Reject Draft Slavery
I oppose HR 163 in the strongest possible terms. The draft, whether for military purposes or some form of "national service," violates the basic moral principles of individual liberty upon which this country was founded. Furthermore, the military neither...
US Military Aid to Latin America Grows
Steadily growing military aid to Latin America and Caribbean nations encourages armed forces in those countries to "blur the lines" between the roles of the civilian and military, according to a report released this week. U.S. military aid to the region has...
Electing to Abstain
"Elections are being advertised as a way of claiming responsibility for one's future. In reality, they are nothing but a way to fool the people into believing that their opinions matter. And it is very obvious that for a very long time, that has definitely not...
Argentina Finally Recognizes Veterans of Falklands War
BUENOS AIRES - This Tuesday the Argentine government announced a substantial increase in the pensions paid to veterans of the 1982 Malvinas/Falkland Islands War. The decision is a first step towards recognizing the participants in a conflict that continues to cause...
Bush’s Case for War Crumbles
Is there anything at all left of the Bush administration's case for going to war in Iraq or, for that matter, the way it has been fought? The answer seems increasingly doubtful given what appears to be an accelerating cascade of news, leaks and admissions by senior...


