SEOUL - Since when has the CIA been reading the minds of Iranian officials, as opposed to studying hard evidence on the nuclear issue? How do they know if Iran has abandoned its "intention" to build the bomb, given its continuing resistance to third-party inspection? Is it the intention as opposed to the capability that the CIA believes Iran has abandoned? If Iran has really given up the intention of developing a nuclear program, why does it make it so exceedingly difficult for the IAEA to verify those claims, even at the cost of so much hardship for the Iranian nation as it weathers economic sanctions?

Continue »

Seoul, South Korea -- Nothing in President Vladimir Putin's career background (in the KGB) nor anything in the long history of the harsh Soviet system, of which he is an inheritor, suggests that Moscow is likely to hand over Andrei Lugovoi, the former KGB agent wanted for the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko in London. It's not simply that the Russian Constitution expressly forbids extradition of its nationals. It has more to do with the nature of Russia's transition from a totalitarian system to authoritarian rule.

Continue »

Seoul, South Korea -- Taiwan has been effectively independent from mainland China for a very long time, even predating the 1949 movement of Chiang Kai-shek to the island after his defeat by Mao Zedong's forces. The island was under Portuguese and Dutch rule before Japan formally annexed it in 1895-1945. The island was seriously populated only from the 17th century, when fishermen from China's southern coasts began arriving in numbers. Before that, Taiwan had -- as it still does -- it own "aborigines." Even today, people claiming roots from China constitute just 14% of the populace, with the rest composed of people whose ancestors began arriving three, four or more generations ago.

Continue »

Seoul, South Korea -- East Asian cities like Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore, where high standards of public security are maintained, are relatively safe from the threat of car bombing. Car bombing has developed mainly as a unique weapon of desperation in the hands, mostly, of Islamic extremists. It is seldom used by their peers from other religious groups.

Continue »

Seoul, South Korea -- Given his role in taking Britain into war in Iraq and Afghanistan, it will be a tough job for Tony Blair to play the role of a peacemaker in the Middle East. However, he should lose no time trying to mediate the current factional fighting between Hamas and Fatah.

Continue »

The Muslim firebrands demonstrating against the British monarchy's decision to bestow knighthood upon Salman Rushdie are doing their best to exaggerate the importance of this honor. The honor has been bestowed not for his alleged blasphemy of the Prophet Mohammad but for services rendered as a writer of English literature.

Continue »

The international journalists covering the world have been guilty of many shortcomings, but losing neutrality in their coverage of the Palestine conflict or of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is certainly not one of them. When compared with their counterparts from other parts of the world including the Middle East, journalists from the U.S., Europe and open societies in Asia can stand any test as far as fairness and impartiality is concerned.

Continue »

Seoul, South Korea -- What Palestinian state can we expect now that Hamas and Fatah have gone their separate ways? Gaza under Hamas and the West Bank under Fatah will lead to two separate governments, as Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh vows not to recognize the legitimacy of President Mahmoud Abbas's new cabinet. As gun battles and wars of words escalate between the two sides, the people of Gaza are likely to get out in massive numbers, creating a renewed refugee flow -- this time from internal civil war.

Continue »

Seoul, South Korea -- Poor Pakistan! The main question is not so much “For how long can President Musharraf hold on to power?” as “What follows next?”

Continue »

Seoul, South Korea -- Iran's decision to release the 15 captured British sailors and marines is as puzzling as the question of how and why they were captured in the first place. We will know what really happened now, as they return home, but it won't be the most important part of the story.

Continue »