Weekly Digest – 4/26/10
Henry Sokolski argues that current U.S. political will to reduce nuclear dangers should be channeled into a practical set of control measures that are more likely to secure bipartisan support and can begin to be implemented without the legal consent of other states. [more]
How can the United States defend its national and commercial interests against cyberattacks? Should the US engage in cyberattacks? Institute Senior Fellow Sue E. Eckert is engaging these questions at Brown and in Washington. [more]
If the Afghan war provides a reason for greater U.S. involvement in Central Asia, the changing Russo-Chinese dynamic creates an opportunity. Now is the time for Washington to make a major diplomatic push into this long-neglected region. [more]
General Stanley McChrystal is putting his mark on the American and NATO effort in Afghanistan. His major new strategic effort includes a focal attempt to “roll up” the Taliban leadership in the nation’s south, especially in the area around Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second city. But how is this effort going? [more]
The Obama administration will soon face the first test of its policy toward human rights in China, after American officials announced on Thursday that they would resume human rights talks with Beijing in Washington next month. [more]
Weekly Digest – 4/19/10
Israel has delivered a secret warning to Syrian President Bashar Assad that it will respond to missile attacks from Hezbollah, the militant Lebanese-based Islamist group, by launching immediate retaliation against Syria itself. [more]
Last week, U.S. and Brazilian officials signed a defense pact that will significantly enhance bilateral military ties. While the agreement does notexplicitly discuss U.S. access to Brazilian bases, it does mention naval visits. I would not be surprised if it eventually led to some form of U.S. military presence in Brazil. [more]
Former CIA operative turned novelist Barry Eisler notes in his forthcoming novel, Inside Out (scheduled for release next month), the story of the destruction of the CIA tapes of waterboarding and other enhanced interrogation techniques furnishes a great example. At first, it was reported that two tapes had gone missing. [more]
The US defence secretary, Robert Gates, has given the White House what has been described as a “wakeup” call over its lack of a credible long-term plan on how to prevent Iran attaining the ability to produce nuclear weapons, it was reported today. [more]
Weekly Digest – 4/12/10
In the midst of the recent U.S.-Israeli tumult, a curious conventional wisdom is starting to evolve. A Washington that cajoles Israel on its settlements and resumes the peace process in earnest may finally garner Arab support for dealing with Iran’s nuclear menace. Although pressuring Israel to restrain its settlements may be a sensible means of gaining constructive Arab participation in the peace talks, it is unlikely to affect the region’s passive approach to Iran. [more]
As secretary of state, Henry Kissinger canceled a U.S. warning against carrying out international political assassinations that was to have gone to Chile and two neighboring nations just days before a former ambassador was killed by Chilean agents on Washington’s Embassy Row in 1976, a newly released State Department cable shows. [more]
George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld covered up that hundreds of innocent men were sent to the Guantánamo Bay prison camp because they feared that releasing them would harm the push for war in Iraq and the broader War on Terror, according to a new document obtained by The Times. [more]
If you believe the president’s Republican critics, Barack Obama takes a law enforcement approach to terrorism. His FBI came under fire for reading Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian national who nearly blew up an airplane on Christmas, his constitutional rights. [more]
During my recent visit to Afghanistan, I got the chance to meet with military officers, mullahs, and senior government ministers, as well as journalists, NGO activists, parliamentarians, provincial governors, tribal leaders, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai himself. The figures represented a wide range of views, but there’s one thing virtually all agreed on: The sudden deterioration of relations between the United States and Karzai could not have come at a worse time. [more]
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