OP-EDS
July 22, 2008
"War's Unintended Consequences"
Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Dubai Initiative Senior Fellow, Director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut, and Editor-at-Large of the Daily Star
It now seems clear that war -- at least these two wars -- generates the additional threat of increased Salafist terrorism, according to an important and ongoing study by an American scholar
July 21, 2008
"Why Everyone is Negotiating in the Middle East"
Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Dubai Initiative Senior Fellow, Director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut, and Editor-at-Large of the Daily Star
The main reason so many diplomatic initiatives have sprouted in the past few months is to see whether the key players in the Middle East can achieve their goals through diplomacy and politics rather than through confrontation and war.
AP Photo
July 20, 2008
"China, Japan Beating Swords Into Plowshares"
The Korea Times
By Shacheng Wang, Research Fellow, International Security Program
"...China and Japan will start a new page of cooperation and will promote a strategic, mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests in the 21st Century.
As both countries work toward world peace, progress, and international cooperation, they should resolve to achieve the noble objectives of peaceful coexistence, friendship for generations, mutually beneficial cooperation, and common development for their two nations.
China and Japan now have more in common. Energy security, environmental protection, poverty, contagious diseases, and other global issues are common challenges that the two countries face."
AP Photo
July 19, 2008
"Bush's U-turn Toward Common Sense"
Los Angeles Times
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative
Graham Allison applauds the decision by the Bush administration to send U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns to the European Union meeting with Iran on Saturday (July 19). This "flip-flop toward reality," Allison says, "represents a major step in overcoming fierce internal struggles within the U.S. and Iran that had left both stuck at stalemate."
AP Photo
July 18, 2008
"China's Cyber Warriors"
Balitmore Sun
By Eric Rosenbach, Executive Director for Research, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Tamara Klajn
Could the United States be under attack from China without Americans even really knowing it?
Last week, Republican Reps. Frank R. Wolf of Virginia and Christopher H. Smith of New Jersey announced that Chinese hackers had attacked their office computers. Mr. Wolf and Mr. Smith, very public critics of China's human rights record, noted that it was likely that in 2006, the hackers sought to steal information about Chinese dissidents and refugees who had sought assistance from members of Congress.
Skeptics have suggested that the politicians' announcement was most likely intended as good old-fashioned China-bashing. After all, the details of the incident were "old news" to the U.S. national security community. And even the casual observer of American politics knows that China is often the target of unwarranted populist attacks on Capitol Hill.
July 16, 2008
"What is 'Israel-Palestine'?"
Human Events
By Joshua Gleis, Associate, International Security Program
"It’s common to hear the term 'Israel-Palestine' when referring to either Israel or the Palestinian Territories, particularly in academic circles. Students and professors in any American college — from your local college to an Ivy League university — are likely to refer to 'Israel-Palestine' (also written as 'Israel/Palestine') as if that was the name of a country. In this age of extreme political correctness, apparently many are willing to overlook the little fact that there is no such country of 'Israel-Palestine'...."
July 16, 2008
"Running on Empty and Spreading the Blame"
The Boston Globe
By Henry Lee, Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program
Who is to blame for $4.00 gasoline?
July 15, 2008
"Whose Crimes? Against Whose Humanity?"
Agence Global
By Rami Khouri, Dubai Initiative Senior Fellow, Director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut, and Editor-at-Large of the Daily Star
The ICC warrant against Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir evokes the thought that not all crimes against humanity are treated similarly. Such should not be the case.
AP Photo
July 15, 2008
"'08's Emotional IQ Tests"
Los Angeles Times
By Joseph S. Nye, Sultan of Oman Professor of International Relations
"You can't fake emotional intelligence, but it does require some of the same skill possessed by good actors. Ronald Reagan's screen experience served him well in this regard, and Roosevelt was a master "actor." Despite his pain and difficulty in moving because of polio, he maintained a smiling exterior and was careful about how he was photographed. Critics sometimes fault the Barack Obama or John McCain campaigns for trying to stage-manage their candidates' appearances, but this is nothing new. It has simply gotten much more difficult because unmanaged moments can so easily find their way to YouTube or the blogosphere...."
AP Photo
July 14, 2008
"Beijing Says No to Terrorism at Olympics"
The Korea Times
By Shacheng Wang, Research Fellow, International Security Program
"Terrorism is the biggest threat to the games and is not new to the Olympics. Eleven Israelis, five guerrillas, and one police officer were killed at the 1972 games in Munich. Two people were killed when a bomb exploded in Centennial Park during the 1996 games in Atlanta....China's generally secretive police agencies have sought advice on Olympic security from the U.S., Korea, Interpol, Germany, Israel, Australia, France, the U.K., Japan, Greece, Canada, Denmark, Switzerland, and others."
