August 24th, 2007
It was a particularly arresting headline that warranted the further search: “Taliban, US in new round of peace talks.” Syed Saleem Shahzad, the Pakistan Bureau Chief of the Asia Times Online, has been writing a series of articles on continuing efforts to negotiate deals which he says “aim to stop violence in selected areas and […]
Read MoreAugust 18th, 2007
On August 3, 2007 the United States and India set out the details of their proposed Agreement for Cooperation on Peaceful uses of Nuclear Energy. This “123 agreement”[i] would bring significantly more of India’s civilian nuclear facilities under an international inspections regime, but it also in effect calls for the international community to embrace India […]
Read MoreJuly 30th, 2007
That the international effort in Afghanistan is faltering, most recently confirmed by a British House of Commons report,[1] is not in doubt.[2] Nor is it in doubt that sooner or later Canada will leave Afghanistan. But the latter should not be determined by the former. Whether Canada stays beyond February 2009 involves a broad range […]
Read MoreJune 18th, 2007
The Toronto Star recently described Canadian Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier as optimistic about the mission in Afghanistan.[i] At the same time, an impressive (and depressing) array of independent reporting from Afghanistan is consistent in describing Afghanistan’s security situation as dire and deteriorating.[ii] Background briefings and roundtables involving Canadian military officials are consistently […]
Read MoreJune 13th, 2007
A central feature of the 50 th anniversary of the first Pugwash Conference, commemorated with an international experts’ workshop (July 5-7) on “revitalizing nuclear disarmament” at the site of the first conference in 1957, was a ceremony to present the medal for the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize to the Pugwash Peace Exchange. The Pugwash Peace […]
Read MoreMay 30th, 2007
This year’s Preparatory Committee for the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference has confirmed two central realities: First, if the ailing NPT is to fulfill its foundational role in advancing global security it must be solidly balanced on its three equal pillars: disarmament, nonproliferation, and peaceful uses. Second, the international community is now well […]
Read MoreMay 22nd, 2007
A recent survey, conducted in countries that together represent just over half the world’s population, found strong public support for a strengthened United Nations, including strong majority support for a standing UN peacekeeping force, UN regulation of the international arms trade, and UN authority to investigate human rights violations. The survey was conducted by the […]
Read MoreMay 9th, 2007
A BBC Television report on Northern Ireland ‘s transition into a new era of self-rule under a government of unity felt obliged to warn viewers that the old hatreds have not vanished.[i] Or, as the BBC’s website puts it, “Old enmities have been foregone, rather than forgiven or forgotten. It is just that [the old […]
Read MoreApril 27th, 2007
No statement or commentary about this NPT PrepCom, which runs through to May 11, begins without a reminder that the NPT is in serious trouble. And so it is. And therein lies a disturbing irony. While the reasons behind the trouble are well-known – indeed, they can be summed up in a series of place […]
Read MoreApril 16th, 2007
When Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor explained the decision to extend Canada’s military commitment in Afghanistan to 2009, the tone they set was one of hard-nosed defence of the Canadian interest.”Our rationale for being in Afghanistan is clear,” Mr. Harper told the House of Commons in the May 17/06 that preceded […]
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