Jun 18, 2012

Dousing the Flame

Reports of a new computer virus, dubbed “Flame,” have raised alarms about a new era of cyber threats. While countries are increasingly reliant on cyberspace for their very survival — it is now part of the social, economic and security infrastructure — it remains ...

Jun 5, 2012

The Houla massacre

The situation in Syria continues to worsen. While accurate information is difficult to acquire, all indications are that the country hovers on the brink of a civil war. The most recent atrocity is a massacre in the town of Houla that left at least ...

Mar 23, 2012

Diversifying LNG supply sources

As Japan’s reliance on thermal power generation increases following the Fukushima nuclear crisis, and as the possible blockade of the Strait of Hormuz cannot be ruled out due to the conflict between the West and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program, Japan must strive to ...

Mar 19, 2012

Syrian crisis shadowed by outcome in Libya

by John J. Metzler

As the conflict in Syria churns out a ghastly human carnage, diplomatic efforts to halt the violence are shadowed by last year’s intervention in the Libyan conflict, which resulted in a six-month-long military operation to topple a tyrant. So, when the U.N. Security Council ...

Mar 12, 2012

Delusional pretexts to attack Iran

by Gwynne Dyer

The last time U.S. President Barack Obama met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it was obvious that the two men distrusted and despised each other. This time (March 5), their mutual dislike was better hidden, but the gulf between them was still as big, ...

Feb 29, 2012

Iran outcome critical for Asia

by Michael Richardson

Can the United States and the European Union apply sanctions on Iran to curb its nuclear program without boosting oil prices and undermining economies in Asia as well as the West? The answer is particularly critical for Asia because it is has to bear ...

Feb 29, 2012

U.S. needs to renew ties to Baghdad

by Danielle Pletka and Gary Schmitt

This month, Obama administration officials revealed plans to dramatically reduce embassy staff in Baghdad, the largest U.S. diplomatic mission abroad. Along with the announcement in December of the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq — the message President Barack Obama is sending is ...

Feb 20, 2012

How the Arab Spring was hijacked

by Brahma Chellaney

A year after the Arab Spring came to symbolize the ascent of people’s power, hope has given way to a bleak sequel. The democratic awakening has fallen prey to murky geopolitics that has cleaved the Arab Spring into two parts, with the oil monarchies ...

Feb 17, 2012

Behind Obama's Mideast policy of capitulation

by Zaki Laidi

No sooner did U.S. President Barack Obama welcome home American troops from Iraq and laud that country’s stability and democracy than an unprecedented wave of violence — across Baghdad and elsewhere — revealed the severity of Iraq’s political crisis. Is that crisis an unfortunate ...