Volume 13 – Issue 2 – March 2007

In January 2007, US President George W. Bush announced that American force levels in Iraq would increase by 15%, with an extra 21,500 troops being added to the 132,000 in the country, bringing the total of US soldiers in Baghdad up to 32,000. This ‘surge’ forms part of a new policy doctrine in response to escalating levels of sectarian violence in Iraq and is focused on the capital. Having split the city into nine sectors, the US army, in coalition with the Iraqi army and police force, is attempting to clear districts of insurgents and impose order. Success depends on many factors, and the US is already drawing up options in case it is not achieved.

Full text HTML & PDF (free to all users) >>>

On 13 February 2007 the Six-Party Talks produced an important agreement under which, in the first phase, the Yongbyon reactor would be shut down in return for fuel aid. The agreement was intended to pave the way towards implementation of the Joint Statement of 19 September 2005, in which the parties pledged to strive towards ‘verifiable denuclearisation’ of North Korea, normalisation of relations between North Korea and the US and Japan, and a wider Northeast Asian peace, in return for the provision of energy assistance and, eventually, light water reactors to North Korea. Midway through the first phase of the implementation, the parties seemed committed to completing the steps required of them, even though the way ahead was likely to be difficult.

Full text HTML & PDF (subscribers only) >>>

Buy this article online >>>

As public awareness of the impact of climate change increases, two recent reports demonstrate advances in the science of assessing global warming. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the UK Treasury’s Review on the Economics of Climate Change make it clear that governments need to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions sharply.

Full text HTML & PDF (subscribers only) >>>

Buy this article online >>>

Violence has worsened considerably in recent months, putting at risk a peace process of which the main milestone had been a 2002 ceasefire between Sri Lanka’s government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Political wrangling, the mishandling of aid to victims of the 2004 tsunami and discord within the LTTE contributed to the upsurge in violence. Since mid-2006, army incursions into LTTE-controlled territory and LTTE retaliatory attacks have left many people dead or displaced from their homes.

Full text HTML & PDF (subscribers only) >>>

Buy this article online >>>

The US Department of Defense has announced the establishment of a new combatant command for Africa, dubbed AFRICOM. This is in keeping with the US military’s wide range of African operations, including the Combined Joint Task Force–Horn of Africa and support for Ethiopian troops in operations in Somalia.  

Full text HTML & PDF (subscribers only) >>>
Buy this article online >>>