Security

Putin: Russia to Deploy Missiles 'Unlikely to Exist' Elsewhere

MOSCOW, Nov. 17 -- President Vladimir Putin told a conference of top military officials Wednesday that Russia was planning to deploy a nuclear missile of a kind that other nuclear powers were unlikely to develop.

Opinion: "Reduce poverty -- get a safer world"

An opinion piece by J. Brian Atwood and Michael Barnett in the Christian Science Monitor proposes that while all nations view security as important, rich nations and poor nations have different takes on what the threats actually are. For rich countries such as the U.S., the view is that everyone has to support the fight against terrorism, but poor nations see the real threat to be the effects of debilitating poverty -- and the two sides are not connecting. The Christian Science Monitor (11/18)

United Nations Secure World Report

Annan: Building a "more secure world" United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan writes in support of the recent report of UN High-Level Panel on Threats, saying the "interconnectedness of our age, in which the destinies of peoples and the threats they face are interwoven" demands a unified response. Annan hopes to build an international consensus behind the panel's recommendations of the same sort that backed the UN's Millennium Development Goals.

UN Report: A More Secure World

Report of UN High-Level Panel on Threats.

UN Starts 16 Days Campaign Against Gender Violence

The United Nations this week began a 16-day campaign to bring awareness to violence against women, and this year's theme is "For the Health of Women, For the Health of the World." In a speech, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said gender-based violence was a major issue in areas of the world where armed conflicts were occurring and also drew attention to how "sexual violence increases women's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS." AllAfrica Global Media/Concord Times (Freetown) (12/2)

Report Criticizes Use Of Port Security Grants

The Department of Homeland Security has allowed federal grants for improving security at U.S. ports to be spent on low-priority problems rather than on the most serious vulnerabilities, the agency's outgoing watchdog says.

UN reform confronts 'irrelevancy'

Panel report acknowledges new security environment: The United Nations High-Level Panel on Threat has recommended numerous reforms for the UN Security Council, but supporters and opponents of reform say it will be difficult to convince the five permanent member nations to dilute their veto power by extending it to other nations. The Christian Science Monitor (12/2)

Nuclear Capabilities May Elude Terrorists, Experts Say

Without sophisticated laboratories, expensive technology and years of scientific experience, al Qaeda has two primary options for getting a bomb, experts say, both of which rely on theft -- either of an existing weapon or one of its key ingredients, plutonium or highly enriched uranium.

Towards a more relevant United Nations

Analysis: Regional rivalries and UN reform: A news analysis in the Economist allows that "the Security Council is an unrepresentative relic" of the post-World War II period, but points out that regional rivalries will inform the competition of rival states seeking permanent membership. The Economist (12/2)

Technical Hurdles Separate Terrorists From Biowarfare

Hoping to hasten the doomsday their leader foretold, scientists who were members of Japan's Aum Shinrikyo cult brewed batches of anthrax in the early 1990s and released it from an office building and out the back of trucks upwind of the Imperial Palace.

Congress Cops Out on Gun Violence

In another direct insult to President Bush, the Republican Congress has erased the financing earmarked for his gun-violence programs from the omnibus spending bill.

Security Drill at Weapons Plant Raises Safety Questions

At the plant that stores the nation's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, security is tight, but a series of events shows it is also sometimes ragged.

An Easier, but Less Deadly, Recipe for Terror

If you can get past the guards and fences, the ingredients for a chemical attack are available off the shelf at a crumbling military base called Shchuchye in south-central Russia.

As Nuclear Secrets Emerge in Khan Inquiry, More Are Suspected

A year after the arrest of A. Q. Khan, the architect of Pakistan's bomb, secrets of his nuclear black market continue to uncoil.

Clearing mines would cut Sudan aid costs-experts

More than 20 years of civil war in Sudan have left roughly 800,000 square miles of Sudanese land littered with land mines, vastly limiting the ability of aid organizations to move safely throughout the country. Removal of the mines is also costing international aid organizations millions of dollars. United Nations representatives at the Nairobi Summit for a Mine Free World said they would seek $1.5 billion for overall development in Sudan, with $57 million earmarked for mine removal. AlertNet.org/Reuters (12/2)

The Doctrine That Never Died

The Monroe Doctrine lives on in President Bush's Inaugural Address.

The American Witness

If we all had the same perspective on Darfur as Brian Steidle, one of the U.S. military advisers there, maybe our government would be doing more.

The Geo-Green Alternative

You give me $18-a-barrel oil, and I will give you political and economic reform from Algeria to Iran.

China and Taiwan Agree to Nonstop Holiday Flights

BEIJING-Longtime rivals China and Taiwan agreed to allow nonstop charter flights between the longtime rivals over the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday. It will be the first time in more than five decades that a commercial aircraft from the mainland would be officially allowed to touch down on Taiwanese soil.

Musharraf attacks war on terror

U.S. efforts ignore the roots of terror: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf told the BBC that the U.S.-led war on terror is not addressing the problem "in its strategic, long-term context." BBC (12/6)

Report Assesses Risks of Attack on Tankers

Terrorist attacks on tankers carrying liquefied natural gas into a U.S. port could trigger a fire that could burn the skin of people a mile away and cause "major injuries and significant structural damage" within about a third of a mile, according to a government study released yesterday.

Facing Down the Killers

After a few hopeful months, the situation in Darfur is now deteriorating sharply, and we are doing nothing about it.

New Strategies for Curbing Recidivism

Lawmakers are finally realizing that controlling prison costs means controlling recidivism - by helping newly released people establish viable lives once they get out of jail.

Depravity in Darfur

The following excerpts from the “Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary General,” issued on January 25, 2005, paint a harrowing picture of "heinous acts" committed primarily by government forces and pro-government Janjaweed Arab militias against black African civilians in the course of the government’s attempts to quell two black rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality Movement.

Inaction's Consequence

LAST MONTH the United States and its allies signaled a change in Sudan policy. Rather than pressuring Sudan's government to halt its genocidal attacks against civilians in the western province of Darfur, they switched to pushing for a peace deal between the government and southern rebels.

U.S. Redesigning Atomic Weapons

Scientists have begun designing a new generation of weapons meant to be sturdier and more reliable.

IAEA Head Disputes Claims on Iran Arms

No findings have been made during the last six months to support the claim that Iran is secretly working on nuclear weapons, according to the head of the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency. In an interview with four U.S. newspapers, Mohamed ElBaradei expressed skepticism about the White House's approach to Iran and North Korea, urging the U.S. to make greater use of diplomacy to ease tensions. The Washington Post (free registration) (2/16)

A Shift on Darfur

THE BUSH administration signaled a new course on Sudan last week, and none too soon. A month ago it made the mistake of turning the diplomatic spotlight away from Darfur, where Sudan's government is perpetrating genocide, to peace talks between the government and rebels in the south.

U.S. Aides Cite Worry on Qaeda Infiltration From Mexico

In a wide-ranging threat report that also addressed the nuclear threat from Iran and North Korea, American intelligence officials, including recently appointed Director of Central Intelligence Porter Goss, warned Congress that terrorists were plotting to obtain and use nuclear, chemical and biological weapons against the U.S. and were also seeking to enter the country illegally through the Mexican border. Goss added that the war in Iraq had bred a new wave of anti-American terrorists who would likely seek to use their wartime experience there against the U.S. in the future. The New York Times (free registration) (2/17)

North Koreans Say They Hold Nuclear Arms

The announcement sent China, the U.S. and its allies to debate whether diplomatic efforts could be resuscitated.

Soft talk across the Strait

Both China and Taiwan would do well to tone down increasingly hostile cross-Strait rhetoric and focus instead on shared economic interests, writes former Chinese foreign ministry official Anne Wu in the International Herald Tribune, noting China is now Taiwan's largest trading partner despite increasing calls by the island for independence from the mainland. Wu believes Taiwanese and Chinese leaders should both slowly embrace peace as "more economic, cultural and social ties" continue to develop. International Herald Tribune/Boston Globe (1/4)

"Al-Qaida also Wants the Bomb"

In this interview with Der Spiegel, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei talks about the prospects for limiting terrorists' access to the nuclear black market and other atomic energy security matters. He says he is "extremely concerned about the development in North Korea," which announced earlier this month it has nuclear weapons. Der Spiegel (English online version) (2/21)

Homeland Insecurity

The Bush team has been steadily eroding America's leverage over our biggest long-term competitor: China.

U.S. to Spend Billions More to Alter Security Systems

After spending more than $4.5 billion, the federal government has concluded that much of the antiterrorism equipment is ineffective.

UN sanctions 'hitting al-Qaeda'

Sanctions agreed to by the United Nations against al-Qaida and its operatives appear to be effective in hurting the terrorist network, a top U.S. official said after briefing the world body on the issue. The UN expressed skepticism in a report last year as to whether the sanctions really hurt the terrorist network. BBC (1/11)

A Destabilizing Bit of Research

Merely hypothesizing about the use of "bunker busting" nuclear weapons feeds anxiety about proliferation.

Pakistani's Black Market May Sell Nuclear Secrets

Investigators believe that the black market network run by A. Q. Khan may have been selling secrets needed to fabricate nuclear warheads.

Rumsfeld's Nuclear Genie

In his State of the Union speech, President Bush declared that he will contain the budget deficit and pursue peaceful diplomacy to end the nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea. But Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's insistence on reviving a wasteful and dangerous nuclear program undermines both goals.

In Break With U.N., Bush Calls Sudan Killings Genocide

Following a meeting with South African President Thabo Mbeki this week, U.S. President George W. Bush called atrocities in Darfur, Sudan, "genocide," but said American troops would not be available to help stop the killings. Bush, who has come under pressure from groups for failing to address the situation in Darfur for a number of months, said Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick would continue to serve as the administration's point man on Sudan and promised additional funds to alleviate human suffering and support African Union troops in the region. The Washington Post (free registration) (6/2)

Thousands Died in Africa Yesterday

When it comes to Africa, where hundreds of thousands of men, women and children die needlessly each year, much of the developed world seems to have a heart of stone.

Arms Sales Begin at Home

There is nothing worse than a pacifist that sells arms - especially in a way that increases the burden on its ally and protector.

Agencies Fight Over Report on Sensitive Atomic Wastes

A semisecret debate is raging between the National Academy of Sciences and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The Real Anthrax Scare

More than three years after the nation was traumatized by anthrax, the government still cannot properly respond to a mail-borne threat.

Bush Seeks to Ban Some Nations From All Nuclear Technology

One goal behind President Bush's shift in dealing with Iran is to rewrite the main treaty governing the spread of nuclear technology.

Anthrax Scare Is Attributed to a Testing Error

Health officials believe that a mix-up of samples in a Defense Department contractor's laboratory was behind an anthrax scare Monday and Tuesday.

U.S. Report Lists Possibilities for Terrorist Attacks and Likely Toll

The Department of Homeland Security has identified a dozen possible strikes it views as most plausible or devastating.

The Emerging Water Wars

Former economic advisor to the Macedonian government Sam Vaknin offers a bleak assessment of the world's water resources, and outlines the numerous conflicts and crises brewing over real and estimated water shortages worldwide. From the Middle East to Africa and Asia, a variety of reports by the United Nations, NGOs and environmental groups all point to the lack of clean water as a primary basis for future conflict and development challenges. Global Politician (5/20)

For Marla, No Sacrifice Too Great

Marla Ruzicka gave us a stunning example of what it means to function full time, and with all one's energy, at the highest level of humanity.

Missing Nuclear Leadership

Unless Washington brings high-level leadership to the table, the most important steps needed to keep new countries from obtaining nuclear weapons will not be taken.

Give Peace a Chance

You would never guess it from the news, but we're living in a peculiarly tranquil world.

Washington's Deadly Bridge

If the Bush administration and Congress are serious about homeland security, they will get a chemical transportation law passed at once.

How Europe is trying to battle ongoing threat

Yesterday's terrorist bombings in London have put the spotlight on European efforts to combat terrorism from Spain to France to Italy, as national intelligence services and police organizations across the continent rethink their defenses in the hope of preventing future attacks. While counterterrorism experts warn no European country is immune, many have urged greater collaboration among governments in the fight against violent extremists. The Christian Science Monitor (7/8)

Jimmy Carter: Erosion of the Nonproliferation Treaty

The U.S. and other nuclear powers are sadly indifferent to other countries' efforts to prudently strengthen the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter writes. International Herald Tribune (5/1)

Facing the City, Potential Targets Rely on a Patchwork of Security

Terrorism experts call a chlorine gas plant in northern New Jersey the deadliest target in the most dangerous two miles in the U.S.

War main reason for world hunger, says UN

War and economic crises are the two top reasons for world hunger, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said at its meeting in Rome, also casting doubt on the chances for meeting the UN goal of cutting the number of starving people in half by 2015. Despite the fight against hunger, the number of starving people has actually increased over the last decade, FAO Director General Jacques Diouf said. Yahoo!/Agence France-Presse (5/23)

The 50-Year Shadow

Fifty years ago, the author joined Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell and eight others in signing a manifesto warning of the effects of nuclear war. It is time to revisit that message.

Day 141 of Bush's Silence

The world must stop being morally indifferent to the plight of Darfur's 2.2 million homeless people. International pressure on Sudan would help stop the genocide.

To Catch a Thief

We need to think creatively and systematically about how to reduce crime, rather than just grunting about the need for more prisons.

Administration to Seek Antiterror Rules for Chemical Plants

Voluntary efforts to protect chemical plants from terrorist attacks are inadequate, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has concluded.

Computers Simulate Terrorism's Extremes

At Los Alamos Lab, Devising Responses to Worst-Case Scenarios

Got Toxic Milk?

How terrorists could spread a toxin that causes botulism throughout the nation's milk supply.

Uncover Your Eyes

If President Bush led a determined effort to save Darfur, there would be hope for peace here. Simply an ounce of top-level attention would go a long way to save lives.

Fighting Terrorism at Gleneagles

A New York Times editorial re-examines the link between extreme poverty and terrorism, arguing the creation of a long-term plan to help the world's poor at the G8 summit can help counter the alienation and hatred displayed this week by those who carried out the London bombings. The New York Times (free registration) (7/8)

The Best Army We Can Buy

American society has all but abandoned the link between citizenship and service.

Who's Afraid of China Inc.?

China is both an engine of economic globalization and an emerging military power. In symbolic shorthand, it is Wal-Mart with an army.

'We cannot be selective on fighting terrorism in interdependent democracies,' says Manmohan Singh

In an address a joint session of the U.S. Congress Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for strengthening democracies worldwide to combat terrorism and other world threats. "We must fight terrorism wherever it exists, because terrorism anywhere threatens democracy everywhere," Singh said during his 40-minute speech. He also addressed energy security, trade issues and United Nations reform. WebIndia123.com (7/19)

Blood Runs Red, Not Blue

If President Bush's war in Iraq is worth dying for, then the children of the privileged should be doing some of the dying.

Unocal Bid Opens Up New Issues of Security

China National Offshore Oil Corporation's bid for Unocal has prompted a groundswell in Congress to make sure oil is defined as being vital to America's security.

Weapons Sales Worldwide Rise to Highest Level Since 2000

The jump in military weapons sales in 2004 was driven by arms deals with developing nations, especially India, Saudi Arabia and China, according to a study.

Chertoff Seeks a Chemical Security Law, Within Limits

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff urged Congress to adopt regulations to bolster protection of chemical plants against a terrorist attack.

Who's pushing nuclear proliferation: Commentary

While the U.S. portrays itself as a defender of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, its efforts to make an exception to the treaty to sell nuclear technologies to India marginalizes its tough stance against nuclear development in Iran and North Korea, Xin Benjian writes in this People's Daily commentary. Benjian wonders if the contradictory acts of the U.S. government mean it is "striving to prevent nuclear proliferation or actively pushing in the opposite direction?" People's Daily (China) (10/27)

Testers Slip Radioactive Materials Over Borders

Undercover Congressional investigators successfully smuggled into the United States enough radioactive material to make two dirty bombs, a new report says.

China and Darfur

Sudan’s president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, is able to prevent a U.N. force from intervening in the genocide in Darfur largely because China continues to protect him with the threat of using its veto in the Security Council.

Darfur worsening, Amnesty warns

Sudan's stubbornly violent Darfur region could face a worsening human rights situation as the country is building up troops there, Amnesty International warned Monday. "Displaced people in Darfur are absolutely terrified that the same soldiers that expelled them from their homes and villages may now be sent supposedly to protect them," Kate Gilmore, Amnesty's executive deputy secretary general, said in a written statement, advocating a United Nations peace force for the region. Mail&Guardian Online (South Africa) /Associated Press (8/28)

In Rio Slum, Armed Militia Replaces Drug Gang’s Criminality With Its Own

The militias have filled a vacuum of authority by promising residents security in exchange for payments and the chance to take over a host of illegal businesses.