Topic: Center for Strategic and International Studies
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North Korea abandons armistice: 4 key questions answered
Tensions on the Korean peninsula are ratcheting up. The US has started its annual war games with South Korean forces, and North Korea has used that fact to declare that it is invalidating the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War in 1953. What really has North Korea upset, though, is the tough, new sanctions passed by the United Nations in response to the North's nuclear test last month.Here are the top four questions analysts are wrestling with on the heels of these developments.
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Afghanistan: 5 areas of concern after the US leaves
The withdrawal of US and NATO forces from Afghanistan will have profound, direct effects on the country's security, economy, and society. Here are five areas that are likely to see an impact.
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What's Ahmadinejad getting out of his Latin America tour?
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Latin America trip, a whirlwind four-nation tour that began in Venezuela on Jan. 8, is now taking him to the inauguration of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. The trip is his fifth visit to the region since 2007 and has prompted alarm in some corners of the United States that Iran is using the region as a staging ground to attack US interests.However, many who study Iran’s relationship with Latin America, in particular Venezuela, say fear of an Iranian threat in the Americas is overblown, at least at this point. Here are four reasons why:
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Palestinian statehood: why Arabs have turned on Obama
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Five ways 9/11 has transformed the US military
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In offshore drilling freeze, rumblings of a new era for oil industry
The six-month moratorium on new deepwater offshore drilling announced by President Obama Thursday isn't likely to have a big impact on the oil industry – unless it's a sign of things to come.
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North Korea hostility toward the South puts China in a spot
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton goes to South Korea Wednesday. But Friday's visit to Seoul by China's premier may do more to determine whether tensions keep rising between North Korea and South Korea.
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Pentagon dials up pressure on North Korea for Cheonan sinking
The Pentagon announced Monday that it will conduct two joint naval exercises with South Korea in response to confirmation that North Korea was responsible for the warship Cheonan sinking.
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Cameron-Obama: A UK-US special relationship forged in syllables?
Ever since Winston Churchill coined the phrase 'special relationship' in 1945, the number of syllables in US presidents' and British premiers' names have often matched. Was David Cameron destined to become a three-syllable premier alongside Barack Obama?
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US-born cleric inspired Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad
The influence of US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki looms again as new evidence strengthens the notion that Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad was inspired by a global extremist network stretching from Yemen to Pakistan.
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Times Square bomb: If Pakistan Taliban involved, a 'game-changer'
American officials are concerned that Faisal Shahzad was trained by the Pakistan Taliban. That could mean that the terrorist group is attempting to expand its reach.
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UK general election: Could it end 'special relationship' with US?
Americans might have a rooting interest in the UK general election. The two leading candidates for prime minister have opposite views about the importance of the US-Britain relationship.
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South Korea's leader calls Cheonan warship sinking 'no accident'
President Lee Myung-bak today called for a review of South Korea's defenses against the North, while using his strongest language yet to imply that the North sank the South's Cheonan warship on March 26.
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Opinion: In Asia, the US should look beyond China and India
Future opportunity for US growth depends on whether President Obama focuses on Southeast Asia, not just China and India.
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Gulf of Mexico oil spill imperils Obama's offshore drilling plan
President Obama's plan to open new swaths of coastline to offshore drilling is being questioned anew in light of the potentially disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Politics of the pending climate-energy bill may be affected, too.
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Two arrested in bid to assassinate North Korean defector Hwang Jang-yop
South Korea arrested two North Korean agents who posed as defectors in a plot to assassinate North Korean defector Hwang Jang-yop. The former top official left the North 13 years ago.
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Al Qaeda killings show growing competence of Iraqi Army
Iraqi Army is being credited for finding and killing two top figures with Al Qaeda in Iraq, including leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri.
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Obama's gambit to marry US policies on environment and energy
The president has integrated energy security goals with environment policy, focusing on renewable power. But his effort won't succeed, analysts say, unless Congress agrees to put a price on carbon emissions.
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Despite uproar, Obama holds firm on NASA space exploration plans
Lawmakers and former astronauts have lambasted President Obama for scrapping a moon mission. Thursday, Obama will defend his vision for NASA space exploration through human spaceflight.
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Why Brazil signed a military agreement with the US
For the first time in three decades, the US and Brazil have a military agreement. Brazil is shopping for 36 new fighter jets, and the US is trying to counter growing Russian and Iranian influence in Latin America.
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US-China relations warm as Obama and Hu Jintao meet
Chinese President Hu Jintao and President Obama met Monday in the margins of the two-day summit on nuclear security. US-China relations have endured several months of tense disagreements.
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For good of Afghanistan war, US seeks truce with Hamid Karzai
The US and Afghan President Hamid Karzai have sniping at each other as a new Afghanistan war offensive nears. But the Obama administration offered an olive branch Sunday.
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Russia Furious Over Adopted Boy Sent Back From US
The country threatened to suspend adoptions by U.S. families after the seven-year-old was sent back to Moscow on a one-way flight.
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START or ending? Why more nuclear weapons cuts will be hard.
The new START treaty, signed today, is a step toward a world free of nuclear weapons, President Obama said. But China's ambitions and Russia's worries could make future cuts difficult.
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Can US supply Afghanistan war without Kyrgyzstan's Manas airfield?
The US military may retain access to Manas airfield – a key transit hub for the Afghanistan war – despite the turmoil in Kyrgyzstan. But given the weakness of other supply routes, the loss would deal a major blow.
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Anwar al-Awlaki: Is it legal to kill an American in war on terror?
Anwar al-Awlaki is an American hiding in Yemen. Tied to the Fort Hood shooting and Christmas Day bomber, he is thought to be plotting attacks on the US. In fighting the war on terror, the Obama administration has put him on the kill-or-capture list.
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'Jihad Jamie' and the 'black widows': Why women turn to terrorism
Statistically, women are far less violent than men. But the case of Jihad Jane's alleged conspirator, Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, and the resurgence of the black widows in Chechnya suggest that when it comes to terrorism, men and women have much in common.
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USS Nicholas captures Somali pirates. What to do with them?
The USS Nicholas returned fire on Somali pirates near the Seychelles, sinking an attacking boat, confiscating the mother ship, and apprehending five pirates. The US Navy has stepped up patrols in the Indian Ocean.
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For Obama, no buddies abroad
Other U.S. presidents have bonded with foreign leaders, but Obama so far has no such ties. Does that matter?
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South Korean ship sinking: Was North Korea involved?
The cause of the South Korean ship sinking is unclear. But North Korea has taunted the South in the past, and the two navies exchanged gunfire last year.
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