Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The National Bureau of Asian Research held a conference, Strategic Asia and the War on Terrorism, at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on September 22, 2004, in conjunction with the launch of its new book Strategic Asia 2004-2005: Confronting Terrorism in the Pursuit of Power, co-edited by Ashley Tellis and Michael Wills and with a contribution from Michael Swaine.
If last week’s startling explosion in North Korea were really a nuclear test, it is certain that the world would know it by now. Thanks to a combination of technological advancements and international cooperation, there are both national and international monitoring systems in place that can detect nuclear tests worldwide. These systems are able to tell us, with scientific precision, whether or not an atmospheric, space-based, underground, or underwater explosion was nuclear in nature.
The last few decades have witnessed an effort by the 'puritanical' view of Islam from the Arabian heartland to penetrate the syncretist Asian periphery. There is a need to reverse the flow of Islamic ideas. Because Islam is not a political or economic ideology, the U.S. cannot get involved in intra-Islam discourse. It should only provide support to moderate Muslims to move forward on their own.
Will the latest diplomatic engagement between India and Pakistan lead to lasting peace, or simply be another in a long string of disappointments?