October 2011 Archives

Two days of meetings between North Korean and U.S. official in Geneva this week did not produce an agreement to formally resume negotiations-- either bilaterally or in the so-called six party talks-- about possible steps toward Pyongyang's denuclearization. When Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was asked in South Korea whether he thinks a renewed U.S. push to explore negotiations will work, Panetta said: "We're not sure where those talks are headed at this point. For that reason, I guess the word 'skepticism' would be in order."

Do you believe engagement with North Korea to reach a diplomatic solution should continue? What can it reasonably be expected to achieve? Does the periodic failure of the diplomatic track allow the U.S. to keep sanctions and pressure on Pyongyang? What more should the U.S. do to pressure Pyongyang? Is there anything China can be expected to do that will push North Korea to give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons? Also, how much should the world worry that an accidental confrontation between North and South Korea sparks a broader conflict?

2 responses: Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., James Jay Carafano

The Obama administration is looking to further isolate Iran after last week's announcement that the elite Quds Force was allegedly behind a plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the U.S. and bomb the Saudi and Israeli embassies. What more can-- or should-- the administration do to tighten the financial vise around Iran? Have the administration's efforts in recent years made a difference in deterring Iran's nuclear program and thwarting international terrorism? Were the additional sanctions levied this week an adequate response to the plot? Should other options outside sanctions be considered?

5 responses: Wayne White, Col. W. Patrick Lang, Michael Brenner, James Jay Carafano, Eric Farnsworth

The 10th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan passed quietly at the White House last week. With the U.S.-led coalition slated to hand over security responsibility to the Afghans by 2014, American military commanders have stressed that battlefield progress in the country remains "fragile and reversible." Optimism that Taliban leaders will ever join in the peace process has hit a new low with the recent assassination of the country's top peace negotiator, former President Burhanuddin Rabbani. Will Afghanistan be ready to take control of its own security? What happens if the country returns to full-blown civil war after American troops pull out?

2 responses: Col. W. Patrick Lang, Michael Brenner

President Obama's campaign to wipe out top al-Qaida leaders around the world through unilateral covert strikes claimed another victim on Friday, when Anwar al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born radical cleric identified as "chief of external operations" for al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula, was killed in Yemen as he rode in a convoy. Awlaki's death followed the takedown of al-Qaida's No. 2 official, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, in late August, and Osama bin Laden in early May. U.S. officials quickly sought to justify the strike against a U.S. citizen abroad by saying that he was one of AQAP's most dangerous terrorists, and was directly involved in planning attacks against the United States.
Is the U.S. justified in carrying out the first known strike that was known to be launched against an American (Awlaki had dual Yemeni-U.S. citizenship)? Should his case be given extra consideration because he is American? What are the legal and ethical implications of such a policy?

7 responses: Col. W. Patrick Lang, Col. W. Patrick Lang, Wayne White, Paul R. Pillar, Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., James Jay Carafano, Michael Brenner