Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The initial goal is to return Iraq’s production to at least 2 million barrels a day, but 2 million barrels a day, earning around $15 billion annually, will not yield a financial surplus to Iraq. Furthermore, the longer term goal is more challenging—to reach and sustain production of 5 million barrels per day (or more).
The Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency (MDA) recently admitted that it was pushing back plans to put up a space-based missile defense test bed to at least 2008. But that does not mean the agency has given up on developing orbiting interceptors for shooting down enemy missiles in their boost-phase, shortly after their launch.
Veron Hung analyzed the political, social, and economic circumstances surrounding the recent crisis and discuss how it has changed the political dynamics in Hong Kong. Minxin Pei covered how this crisis has influenced elite politics in China and examined its ramifications.
Attention to trade-related technical assistance and capacity building has surged as people from all walks of life explore how the global trade regime can be structured to better promote equitable, sustainable human development.
The Iraq War has drastically weakened Tony Blair's domestic position. If Washington forces Britain to choose between the United States and Europe, it may not choose the United States, and a collapse of the relationship with Britain would leave the United States without a single major Western ally. The consequences for U.S. power and influence in the world would be nothing short of disastrous.
Observers often think that policymakers make decisions as a result of carefully reasoned and vetted processes that take into account potential strategic and long-term implications. In reality, decisions by both U.S. and Chinese officials concerning the bilateral relationship have been made on the basis of very personal and short-term political reasons.
The experience of recent decades shows that while the direct application of military force can certainly oust defiant dictators, military threats and bluster almost never do. While rapid regime change seemingly offers a quick fix, the U.S. will still need sustained diplomatic solutions to its security problems.