The Korea Herald

[Shahid Javed Burki] The war on terror is most costly for Pakistan

ISLAMABAD ― The 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States sent shock waves around the world from which Pakistan has still not recovered. Indeed, Pakistan’s participation in what former President George W. Bush called the “global war on terror” has produced overwhelmingly negative consequences, as

Sept. 15, 2011

[Joel Brinkley] Durban III set for Islamophobia

Scores of states are meeting at the United Nations later this month for a hatefest that promises to be so odious that a dozen Western countries, including the United States, have already announced that they will not attend.It’s called Durban III, the third iteration of a conference first held in Sou

Sept. 15, 2011

[Joel Brinkley] Durban III set for Islamophobia

Boomers turn conservative as they grow old

Baby boomers who came of age during the social and political upheavals of the 1960s and 1970s tended to call themselves Democrats, and as time passed, that identification strengthened. In 1969, far more in the 18- to 29-year-old age cohort ― the front end of the baby boom ― called themselves Democra

Sept. 15, 2011

[Trudy Rubin] War on terrorism a phantom

Did we win the war on terrorism?Ten years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden is dead, and al-Qaida is fractured. There’s been no second attack (although intelligence chatter has picked up possible threats during anniversary commemorations).So people ask: Did we win?Not really. What we’ve won is hard knowle

Sept. 15, 2011

[Park Sang-seek] Ideological polarization in capitalist democracies

After the cold war ended, the ideological conflict between East and West ended and the wind of democracy blew in the East and the South, but history has not ended. Instead, the North-South divide which had already emerged in the cold war period has become more serious and a new grand debate on the c

Sept. 15, 2011

[Park Sang-seek] Ideological polarization in capitalist democracies

[Omar Ashour] Long journey from 9/11 to the Arab Spring

CAIRO ― Al-Qaida’s operating environment today is vastly different from the one in which it launched its most notorious operation, the 9/11 terror attacks. Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida’s founder and charismatic leader, was killed by United States Navy Seals in Pakistan in May. Three brutal Middle East

Sept. 14, 2011

[David Ignatius] The payoff of quiet leadership

WASHINGTON ― Barack Obama got elected president in part because he promised to change the foreign-policy priorities of a Bush administration that was unpopular abroad, had strained relations with key allies and was facing a growing Iranian challenge and a continuing menace from al-Qaida. So wha

Sept. 14, 2011

[David Ignatius] The payoff of quiet leadership

[William Pesek] Obama’s soul mate down under may be down

It’s as predictable as political leadership gets: When things go awry at home, escape overseas for a while, grip and grin with a foreign head of state and change the subject. Barack Obama may have this tried-and-true strategy in mind as he plans to visit Australia, which is about as far as a U.S. pr

Sept. 14, 2011

[Jaime O’Neill] Hard times have spawned great art, but not these hard times, it seems

Economists and politicians told us that the recession was over, though some of them now worry about it taking a double dip. For those of us living farther from the ledger sheets and closer to the reality of what’s happening in our towns and on our streets, this has been and remains a depression. It’

Sept. 14, 2011

[Shashi Tharoor] Hazare poses saintly challenge to Indian democracy

NEW DELHI ― India is no stranger to protest movements, hunger strikes, and the mass mobilization of citizens for a popular cause. But the recent fast by the Gandhian leader Anna Hazare, culminating in an extraordinary session of Parliament to pass a resolution acceding to his main demands, marked a

Sept. 14, 2011

[Shashi Tharoor] Hazare poses saintly challenge to Indian democracy

[Ezra Klein] Reckless, dumb and scared: Coming of age after 9/11

You know how we know the terrorists didn’t win? It’s not because we killed Osama bin Laden. It’s because we killed him and we didn’t really care. Which is not to say that we won, either. It’s more to say it’s been a weird decade. According to the Gallup Poll, President Barack Obama’s “Osama bump” in

Sept. 13, 2011

[Daniel Fiedler] Translation troubles in the courts

A fundamental human right is equality under the law regardless of race or gender. This right is complemented by the right of individuals to petition the government for redress, a right exercised by accessing the court system. These rights are a large part of what distinguishes open democratic nation

Sept. 13, 2011

[Daniel Fiedler] Translation troubles in the courts

A cultural civics lesson

Politics is making Americans dumb and mean. It’s turning a generous, forward-thinking people into glib, defensive, narrow-minded bores.Pundits tell us that the answer to all this nastiness ― from the disgusting comments on message boards to the smarmy lies of TV political hacks ― is to get more peop

Sept. 13, 2011

Clinton deserves credit for Libya

The unsung hero of the Libya drama in the U.S. is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton’s actions were critical for several reasons. Most important, she overcame Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s caution about using military force in Libya and his reluctance to support an operation led by Franc

Sept. 13, 2011

[Trudy Rubin] Stop Syria? It’s not as easy as Libyan intervention

Now that NATO has helped to overthrow Moammar Gadhafi, some pundits are calling for similar action against Syria.So far the chorus is muted, composed mainly of op-eds by neoconservatives who promoted the Iraq war. Back then they were certain that regime change in Baghdad would undercut Iran and make

Sept. 13, 2011

[Kim Seong-kon] They try to tell us we’re too old

Humans are mortals. And all mortals are doomed to grow old; as time goes by, their skin becomes wrinkled and saggy, their internal organs deteriorate, and their physical strength declines. That is why King Solomon metaphorically advised us to remember our Creator before we get too old: “before the s

Sept. 13, 2011

[Kim Seong-kon] They try to tell us we’re too old

[William Pesek] China in time of millionaires snubs neighbor

Asia’s biggest rivalry is looking more and more one-sided. There’s no competing with China’s 9.5 percent growth as the U.S. sheds jobs, Europe unravels and Japan’s deflation deepens. Even though Asia’s other rising superpower, India, is zooming along at 7.7 percent, try getting anyone to pay much at

Sept. 9, 2011

[David Ignatius] A 9/11 Commission report card

WASHINGTON ― As America takes stock of counterterrorism policies this week, it’s useful to review two major recommendations in the 9/11 Commission Report. The first, which called for creation of a new director of national intelligence to “connect the dots,” is finally making some progress in coordin

Sept. 9, 2011

[David Ignatius] A 9/11 Commission report card

[Robert Karniol] China’s fourth fleet

With a low-key remark in the state-run People’s Daily, China effectively signaled its intention to establish a fourth fleet for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). However, this may yet prove temporary.The PLAN is currently structured around three fleets, each with a geographic focus: the Nort

Sept. 9, 2011

China needs to learn a lesson from oil spills

The order by China’s State Oceanic Administration (SOA) to ConocoPhillips China that it must stop all production operations in Bohai Bay is long overdue given the two-month long oil leaks and extensive contamination of large areas of Bohai Bay. An investigation conducted jointly by seven central gov

Sept. 9, 2011