THE SEARCH FOR A NUCLEAR WEAPON FOR LIMITED CONFLICTS Mark Bromley and David Grahame report on the Pentagon's search for a nuclear "bunker buster" it feels it can safely use on the battlefield (complete with links to relevant background material) Antonin Rusek: on the Bush administration's need for a strategy that does more than rely on military retaliation Husain Haqqani: on Pakistan's upcoming legislative elections THE FUTURE OF NUCLEAR ARMS CONTROL Rose Gottmoeller: gives an interactive assessment of the prospects for nuclear disarmament after the Moscow Summit, complete with links to key documents and treaties.

SITE CONTENTS SEARCH

The Journalists' Essential Field Guide to Afghanistan
by Edward Girardet

click here

WHEN DO WE GET TO THE REAL WAR?
The Brookings Institution's Michael O'Hanlon does the numbers and concludes that the U.S. would need a quarter of a million troops and at least three months to make a move. That could place the invasion sometime in February. By Michael O'Hanlon, Brookings, August 30, 2002

ISRAEL BRACES FOR THE AFTERMATH
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has reportedly told his cabinet that the window for a U.S. assault against Baghdad will open in November. While no one admits to having inside information, the message is clear: Israel had better get ready for an Iraqi attack once the missiles start flying. Ha'aretz, September 4, 2002

TIME MAY BE RUNNING OUT
Syed Saleem Shahzad, writing in the Asia Times, notes that while the Bush administration has been busy sending out mixed signals on Iraq, an alliance is forming to counter U.S. power in the Middle East. The instigators: Iran and Saudi Arabia, among others.
By Syed Saleem Shahzad in Asia Times, August 23, 2002

IS IRAN NEXT?
Al-Ahram's Galal Nasser suggests that Iran has plenty of reasons to feel nervous. Besides its support for Hizbullah, its ballistic missiles can reach anywhere in Israel. And if that is not enough to put Iran at the top of Washington's hit list, the Russians are forging ahead with plans to give Teheran a functional nuclear reactor.
By Galal Nasser in Al-Ahram, August 29-September 4, 2002

CHINA'S INTERNET: YOU'VE GOT DISSENT!
The Internet has taken China by storm and dissidents are becoming surprisingly adept at getting around government attempts at controlling the public's access to the outside world. The RAND corporation's latest report indicates that Beijing still has the upper hand, but that may not last for long.

CHINA'S REFUSAL TO DEAL WITH AIDS TAKES A NASTY TURN
Dr. Wan Yan Hai was due to fly to Canada this month to accept a human rights award for his work at AIDS prevention in China. Wan had run China's only AIDS hotline until authorities fired him from his government job. He then ran an internet website providing medical information on AIDS. Rather than applaud Wan's work, Chinese police abducted him several days ago and have been holding him incommunicado ever since. By silencing Wan, Chinese authorities apparently hoped to avoid international publicity for China's AIDS epidemic which has been exacerbated by government mismanagement. HIV infection has reached alarming proportions in some provinces due to the absence of effective government safeguards against contaminated blood supplies.
Human Rights Watch, August 30, 2002.

RUSSIA: COOLING THE RELATIONSHIP
When White House spokesman Ari Fleischer accused Russia of lying about recent bombing raids against Georgia, he was signaling that Washington has deeper concerns. Despite Vladimir Putin's friendly chats with George Bush, Russia is finalizing plans to give Iran a nuclear reactor, and it plans to carry through with a $40 billion cooperation deal with Iraq. To add insult to injury, the Russians may veto any U.S. efforts to get the U.N. Security Council to back an attack on Iraq. By Pavel Felgenhauer in the Moscow Times, August 29, 2002

GEORGIA TRIES TO PULL ITS ACT TOGETHER
After the Russian bombing, Georgia has tried to accelerate its plans to send troops after alleged Chechen terrorists in the Pankisi Gorge. So far, the Russians don't seem very impressed.
By Giorgy Kupatadze in Pichkhovani , The Institute for War & Peace Reporting,August 29, 2002

BACK TO THE COLD WAR?
As the U.S. flexes its muscles around the world, Russia is also on the lookout for potential allies. Not surprisingly, many of the most promising candidates are the alleged rogue states that Washington seeks to control. By Ehsan Ahrari in the Asia Times, August 28, 2002

BIN LADEN: AFTERSHOCKS STRIKE AT FREEDOM
The first casualty of the War on Terrorism may be freedom itself. The Economist points out that while most world governments denounced the events of 9/11, they wasted no time using the fear created by the attack to clamp down on domestic liberty. In a survey of the damage so far, the Economist points out that democracy is being rolled back in a number of places, and as for the United States, that famous crack in the Liberty Bell looks a bit wider these days.
The Economist, August 29, 2002

A DOUBLE STANDARD FOR AMERICAN JUSTICE
One of the attractions of the Patriot's Act, which became law after 9/11, was that it targeted immigrants and outsiders at a time when the U.S. felt particularly vulnerable to foreign threats. But broad-brush guilt by association is a poor substitute for targeted actions directed at guilty parties. In fact, the awkward law may be obscuring the information that we need to track down the true terrorists. Of the up to 2,000 people arrested under the Justice Department's massive preventive detention campaign, not a single suspect has been directly linked to the events of September 11 (Massaoui was arrested earlier). By David Cole, Professor of Constitutional law at the Georgetown University Law Center (In Foreign Policy in Focus), September 2002.

DEADLY FALLOUT
Lasers to knockout offensive ballistic missiles in flight? Sounds like a great idea, but what happens when an intact warhead from a disrupted missile detonates over a country that was not the original target. If the U.S. proceeds with current systems it is developing, Europe and Turkey could soon find themselves on the firing line.
By Geoffrey Forden in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, September/October 2002.

COLIN POWELL GETS SHOUTED DOWN
George Bush had strong reasons for not attending the Johannesburg summit on sustainable development. Given the administration's dismissive approach to nearly any initiative aimed at saving the planet, he might have been lynched. Instead of Bush, Colin Powell was offered up as a sacrifice. When the Secretary of State gamely tried to defend the administration's record, he was shouted down. The real surprise was the courage and composure which Powell showed while trying to hold his ground in a battle that was clearly lost from the start.
The BBC, September 4, 2002

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, the Text of Powell's speech
[click here]

JOBURG AS "BUBBLE AND SQUEAK"
On second thought, the conference wasn't all bad.
The Economist, September 4, 2002

The Summit Website [click here]

The British Council's Daily Wrap of Summit News Events

Draft Copy of the Summit Report (65 pages in pdf format)

Draft Political Declaration

FALLING OUT OF LOVE
An independent task force, sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations, concludes that the U.S. now has a global image problem of disturbing proportions. The growing distrust of Washington's motives extends beyond the Middle East's growing uneasiness over the Bush administration's confusing signals on Iraq. Even Europeans are beginning to question American values on topics ranging from the environment to nuclear disarmament. The administration is increasingly characterized as arrogant, self-indulgent, hypocritical, inattentive, and unwilling or unable to engage in cross-cultural dialogue.
The Council on Foreign Relations' Independent Task Force Report on Public Diplomacy [to read the report, click here]

GETTING THE MESSAGE OUT
Public diplomacy obviously counts for a great deal in a global world, but dropping crude leaflets and wind-up radios over Afghanistan is not going to hack it. A little more Britney Spears, empathy and understanding might help. And while we're at it, why not try the truth.
By Mark Leonard, Director of London's Foreign Policy Centre, in Foreign Affairs, September 2002.

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