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COMMENTARY

Apr 11, 1999

Shadows of Vietnam in Europe

By Gregory Clark

The shadow of Vietnam hangs heavily over events in Yugoslavia. Once again Western policymakers have proven unable to grasp the reality of events in distant lands with complex backgrounds.

COMMENTARY

Apr 9, 1999

Zhu’s U.S. visit kicks off strategic dialogue

By Ralph Cossa

Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji came to Washington at the worst possible time, what with the current anti-China feeding frenzy in the press and on Capitol Hill. China’s recent spate of human-rights violations and alleged espionage activities have made it open season on China -- “innocent until proven guilty“...

COMMENTARY

Apr 9, 1999

National security put to test

By Minoru Tada

Two suspected North Korean spy boats recently invaded Japanese territorial waters in the Sea of Japan. A national controversy still rages over the incident, which came at a time when the Diet was debating legislation covering the new Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines. The intrusion sparked a...

COMMENTARY

Apr 8, 1999

Europe’s new killing fields

By David Howell

LONDON -- A dark shadow lies over Europe this Eastertide. It is no wonder that as the churches and cathedrals fill for the greatest festival of the Christian calendar, people are turning increasingly to prayer to answer a problem that Europe’s political leaders seem unable to resolve.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 7, 1999

In the wake of the spy boats

By Keizo Nabeshima

Two North Korean spy boats disguised as trawlers recently intruded deep into Japanese territorial waters in the Sea of Japan. This was the second incident to have heightened tension between Tokyo and Pyongyang since last August, when a Taepodong ballistic missile test-fired by North Korea flew over northern...

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 7, 1999

Foreign policy to the fore in Washington

By Bob Keefe

WASHINGTON -- After a year that was unusual, peculiar and unbelievable enough to qualify as one long April Fool’s Day, the U.S. government is finally back doing governmental work. It isn’t boring, but it is less colorful than the year of Monica et al. We have lost some of our more entertaining characters...

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 4, 1999

The United States is drowning in hubris

By Doug Bandow

Superpowers, like individuals in love, never have to say they are sorry. At least, that seems to be the lesson of U.S. President Bill Clinton’s promiscuous use of force overseas.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 3, 1999

Rethinking joint strategy on North Korea

By Brad Glosserman

North Korea continues to confound the world. The country’s economy is on the rocks; it is estimated to have shrunk by more than 50 percent between 1992 and 1996. The government is unable to feed its own people; hundreds of thousands are thought to have died as a result of malnutrition-related diseases...

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 3, 1999

The autonomy imperative

By Chalmers Johnson

In these post-Cold War days, the governments of the United States and its allies still routinely expose their citizens to the risks of death and destruction in the name of national security. The people of northern Italy complained for years about low-flying U.S. military aircraft, but Rome simply ignored...

COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW

Apr 1, 1999

Russia’s new paranoia

By Constantine Pleshakov

If one nation is totally infuriated by the current bombing of Serbia, it’s Russia. After numerous assaults by angry crowds, the imposing building of the U.S. Embassy in downtown Moscow now looks like an expensive piece of furniture despoiled by a wild party, its walls covered with ketchup and ink. It...

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 1, 1999

Pinochet advances human rights after all

By Myint Zan

Both the anti-Pinochet crowd that had gathered outside the House of Lords in London and the Pinochet supporters at the Pinochet Foundation in Santiago, Chile, cheered and celebrated soon after the seven Law Lords gave the gist of their judgments live on radio and television. Both pro-Pinochet and anti-Pinochet...

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 24, 1999

Chinese cronyism hinders reform efforts

By Shoichi Kobayashi

The People’s Republic of China will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its founding Oct. 1, and major national events are scheduled to take place at that time. President Jiang Zemin has been promoting the slogan of “stability first” -- a reflection of his desire to complete the ceremonies successfully...

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.

What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival

By Alex K.T. Martin

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