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January 23, 2025

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COMMENTARY

Mar 3, 2004

Secret operations rock Blair's boat

By Sarah Benton

LONDON -- From the moment Tony Blair let it be known that he had decided to send troops to Iraq, his days of smooth government were over. The decision unleashed all the dark forces of suspicion and a sense of illegality that are usually contained by democratic institutions. As the prime minister battles...

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 3, 2004

Japanese troops might be of more benefit elsewhere

By Michael O'Hanlon

WASHINGTON -- After much difficult deliberation and debate, the Koizumi government has decided to send several hundred Japanese troops to the U.S.-led stabilization operation in Iraq. They will be working alongside roughly another 25,000 foreign troops, including just over 10,000 Brits and 3,000 South...

COMMENTARY

Mar 2, 2004

Stomach to cut government

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- A British government review, to be published shortly, has apparently suggested that some 80,000 civil service jobs could be cut and up to £14.5 billion ($28 billion) could be saved by 2007 if recommendations such as "streamlining" back-office functions and raising productivity in education,...

COMMENTARY

Mar 2, 2004

Requiem for American nation-building

By Doug Bandow

WASHINGTON -- Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has fled. The island country is in crisis. The United States is sending in Marines as part of a multilateral peacekeeping force. Instead of occupying yet another failed state, however, Washington should declare its era of nation-building to be over....

COMMENTARY

Mar 1, 2004

Asian tale of two technologies

By Ronald Meinardus

MANILA -- Media developments influence not only our private lives, but also affect the way our societies and politics are organized. Before coming to the Philippines two years ago, I spent nearly six years in South Korea. In both countries, I observed the impact of media on political and social developments....

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 1, 2004

Reform remains key to Indonesian success

By George Sioris

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- In the 1970s and '80s, I had the opportunity to closely observe the Indonesian scene. A series of professional visits allowed me not only to appreciate the archipelago's progress and predominant regional role but also to evaluate many of its leaders -- from then-President Suharto...

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 29, 2004

'Opening up' to raise risks of instability

By Eric Teo Chu Cheow

SINGAPORE -- At a Feb. 23 international conference in Tokyo titled "Future Prospects of the East Asian Economy and Its Geopolitical Risks," which was organized jointly by the Policy Research Institute, Japan's Finance Ministry and the Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies at Johns Hopkins University,...

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 29, 2004

Romania takes high road in AIDS fight

By Cesar Chelala

NEW YORK -- The Romanian government's serious commitment to improve access to treatment, increase outreach activities, build an effective partnership with the private sector and improve health infrastructure has led to dramatic progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

COMMENTARY

Feb 28, 2004

Rough sailing ahead for EU

By Andre Fontaine

PARIS -- On May 1, eight former communist countries, plus the islands of Malta and Cyprus, will join the European Union, expanding its membership from 15 to 25 countries.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 28, 2004

Rivalry threatens Sri Lankan ceasefire

By Gautaman Bhaskaran

COLOMBO -- There are growing fears that the recent political turmoil in Sri Lanka will seriously hamper the internationally supported effort to end the two decades of ethnic strife between the majority Buddhist Sinhalese and the minority Hindu Tamils.

COMMENTARY

Feb 27, 2004

Rightwing's political football

By Gregory Clark

Don't underestimate the depth of genuine public anger in Japan over the abduction issue with North Korea. At the same time don't underestimate the degree to which Japan's powerful rightwing is exploiting the issue to shift Japan even further to hardline foreign policies, a shift typified by the extraordinary...

COMMENTARY

Feb 27, 2004

Watershed for Hong Kong-Beijing ties

By Frank Ching

HONG KONG -- The relationship between Hong Kong and Beijing is at a critical point, with the central government having cautioned the special administrative region not to rush headlong into democracy while local people fear that their democratic aspirations may be frustrated.

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.

Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go

By Kazuaki Nagata and Richard Meyer

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