Asia & the Pacific

26 Items

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Analysis & Opinions - The Oregonian

The Islamic State has made a big mistake

| July 7, 2016

In the global revulsion at the recent terror attacks in four Muslim countries, the United States and its allies have a new opportunity to build a unified command against the Islamic State and other extremists. FDP Senior Fellow David Ignatius examines the diplomatic relationships needed to create an effective counterterrorism strategy.

In this Dec. 8, 2011 photo, a ferry boat cruises in front of a container ship being loaded at the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif.

(AP)

Analysis & Opinions - The Wall Street Journal

Economic Growth Is a National Security Issue

| May 26, 2015

"The truth is that national security and economic strength are inextricably linked, and Washington needs to pursue both," write Michèle Flournoy and Richard Fontaine. "In siloed government agencies, though, they are too often considered in isolation. America’s economy is the foundation of its military and political power, and boosting growth helps relieve the downward pressure on defense and foreign-affairs budgets that reduces Washington’s ability to shape international events. With the world aflame from Syria to Ukraine, and tensions with China rising, the demand for U.S. power is higher than it has been in decades. The challenge today is supplying it."

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Analysis & Opinions - Caixin.com

Lee Kuan Yew: The Sage of Asia

| March 28, 2015

The death of Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime minister of Singapore, is an occasion for reflection. Lee, who died Monday, was more than just his country's founding father. He did not just raise a poor, notoriously corrupt port city from the bottom rungs of the Third World to a modern First World state (with clean streets and clean government) in a single generation. He was also one of only two true grand masters of international strategy in the last half century (Henry Kissinger being the other), and a wise counselor to the leaders of the world.  (NOTE: This commentary was published by Caixin in Chinese. This is a Belfer Center English translation.)

Jan. 3, 1993: Russian President Boris Yeltsin toasts with U.S. President George H. W. Bush, left, after they signed the START II treaty, a landmark nuclear arms control treaty calling for a two-third reduction of nuclear weapons, in Moscow's Kremlin.

AP Photo

Analysis & Opinions - The Boston Globe

Smart Nuclear Reduction

| February 27, 2012

"The nuclear debate in Washington is only about the past, about a notion of this nation as the better of only two options. It's as if the critics are wondering: why must we tinker with everything that made America once spectacular? Endless discussions about whether America is exceptional or not (and whether this president thinks we are or not) are preconditioned on a memory that equates the size of our nuclear arsenal with our own relevance. It is simplicity in its most perverse form. What makes us exceptional is our capacity to adapt to a world that has changed, not holding onto a world dynamic that ended long ago."

President Barack Obama delivers his Middle East speech at the State Department in Washington,  May 19, 2011.

AP Photo

Analysis & Opinions - The National Interest

The End of the American Era

| November-December 2011

"...[T]he biggest challenge the United States faces today is not a looming great-power rival; it is the triple whammy of accumulated debt, eroding infrastructure and a sluggish economy. The only way to have the world's most capable military forces both now and into the future is to have the world's most advanced economy, and that means having better schools, the best universities, a scientific establishment that is second to none, and a national infrastructure that enhances productivity and dazzles those who visit from abroad. These things all cost money, of course, but they would do far more to safeguard our long-term security than spending a lot of blood and treasure determining who should run Afghanistan, Kosovo, South Sudan, Libya, Yemen or any number of other strategic backwaters."

Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Chairman Mike Mullen addresses service members in Mosul, Iraq, Aug. 1, 2011. Mullen said Iraq's indecision on asking U.S. troops to stay beyond the end of the year is jeopardizing a smooth withdrawal.

AP Photo

Analysis & Opinions - The New York Times

The Right Way to Trim

| August 4, 2011

"At the height of the cold war, President Dwight D. Eisenhower decided against direct military intervention on the side of the French in Vietnam in 1954 because he was convinced that it was more important to preserve the strength of the American economy. Today, such a strategy would avoid involvement of ground forces in major wars in Asia or in other poor countries."

The Navy X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration aircraft completes its 1st flight at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Feb. 4, 2011. The U.S. is developing aircraft carrier-based drones that may provide an edge in countering China's military rise.

AP Photo

Analysis & Opinions - CNN

Has Economic Power Replaced Military Might?

| June 6, 2011

"Markets and economic power rest upon political frameworks, which in turn depend not only upon norms, institutions, and relationships, but also upon the management of coercive power. A well-ordered modern state is one that holds a monopoly on the legitimate use of force, and that allows domestic markets to operate. Internationally, where order is more tenuous, residual concerns about the coercive use of force, even if a low probability, can have important effects — including a stabilizing effect."

In a Mar. 29, 2011 U.S. Navy photo , the guided-missile destroyer USS Barry launches a Tomahawk cruise missile from the Mediterranean Sea to support U.S. military forces assisting the international response to the unrest in Libya.

AP Photo

Analysis & Opinions - Foreign Policy

Is America Addicted to War?

| April 4, 2011

"Since the mid-1960s, American conservatism has waged a relentless and successful campaign to convince U.S. voters that it is wasteful, foolish, and stupid to pay taxes to support domestic programs here at home, but it is our patriotic duty to pay taxes to support a military establishment that costs more than all other militaries put together and that is used not to defend American soil but to fight wars mostly on behalf of other people. In other words, Americans became convinced that it was wrong to spend tax revenues on things that would help their fellow citizens (like good schools, health care, roads, and bridges, high-speed rail, etc.), but it was perfectly OK to tax Americans (though of course not the richest Americans) and spend the money on foreign wars."