The Syrian conflict is far from resolved, but with Russia finally stepping in and offering to broker a solution ― something this column has long recommended ― a stand-down now seems increasingly likely. As the world now mulls Russia’s proposal for Syria to place its chemical arsenal under international control, what have we really learned so far?― We’re living in a multipolar world where America is no longer required to take every shot. There’s nothing wrong with passing the ball once in a while

Viewpoints Sept. 13, 2013

In his White House address last night, President Barack Obama laid out a clear case to Americans for upholding the international taboo against the use of chemical weapons in Syria. He had the right argument ― just the wrong audience.Obama is no longer asking the U.S. Congress for an immediate vote to support missile strikes against Syria, in retaliation for the Aug. 21 sarin-gas attack that killed more than 1,400 civilians near Damascus. Now, the people who face an imminent choice on Syria don’t

Viewpoints Sept. 12, 2013

With the 13th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to be held in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, on Friday, a look back at the preceding 12 years will reveal that the SCO has progressed in leaps and bounds and made enormous achievements in the region and beyond.Since it was founded 12 years ago, when Uzbekistan joined the members of the Shanghai Five China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan and the six heads of state signed the Declaration of the Establishment of the Shang

Viewpoints Sept. 12, 2013

Mark Chen, who openly called Singapore a mini-state resembling a piece of snot while he was foreign minister in 2004, has made another gaffe. Now a lawmaker, Chen called a press conference at the Legislative Yuan together with a couple of his Democratic Progressive Party colleagues last Wednesday to blast the Immigration Bureau for restoring efforts to screen people’s political thoughts and to blacklist unwelcome visitors, denying them entry to Taiwan. He said that it hurt Taiwan’s image as a de

Viewpoints Sept. 12, 2013

If Syria follows through on its apparent agreement to submit its chemical weapons to international control and then destroy them, it will be a stroke of luck akin to genius for one of the more inept episodes of U.S. foreign policy.There is good reason to be skeptical of Syria’s declaration, which follows a Russian proposal, which was born of an American gaffe ― namely, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s “rhetorical” response, as his spokeswoman put it, to a reporter’s question about what Syria

Viewpoints Sept. 11, 2013

WASHINGTON ― When the ancient Greek or Roman playwrights had painted themselves into a corner, plot-wise, they sometimes resorted to the device known as the deus ex machina, in which one of the gods was hoisted over the stage and dropped in to resolve the otherwise inchoate drama. Something similar happened this week with Syria. The drama had progressed into a mix of international tragedy and domestic political bathos. President Obama’s threat of military action against Syria was right in princi

Viewpoints Sept. 11, 2013

The nation’s agricultural sector is facing growing pressure to recreate itself as a high-value-added export industry. It is make-or-break time for the sector as Korea is promoting free trade deals with China and other countries that will open the nation’s economy even wider.Agricultural reform requires not only a well-designed plan to support selected segments but also a different mindset among those in agro-fisheries businesses.Last week, Korea and China wrapped up their first round of negotiat

Editorial Sept. 11, 2013

As the nation’s population is aging rapidly, so are workers at industrial plants. The graying of the industrial workforce is cause for concern in its own right. It is all the more so when coupled with a tendency among young job seekers to shun production lines.According to a survey released by the Institute for International Trade, the average age of people in employment is 44.8 this year, up from 40.3 in 2000. Aging is more pronounced among blue-collar workers, with their average age jumping fr

Editorial Sept. 11, 2013

NEW DELHI ― In just one decade, the United States has intervened militarily in three Muslim-majority countries and overthrown their governments. Now the same coalition of American liberal interventionists and neoconservatives that promoted those wars is pushing for punitive airstrikes in Syria without reflecting on how U.S. policy has ended up strengthening Islamists and fostering anti-Americanism. Indeed, the last “humanitarian intervention” has clearly backfired, turning Libya into a breeding

Viewpoints Sept. 11, 2013

Vladimir Putin may be the world’s most hypocritical leader.The debate over the Syrian chemical weapons attack has brought this into sharp focus. The Russian president has repeatedly called the idea that the Syrian government carried out the attack “absurd” and “utter nonsense.”That leaves only one alternative: Syrian rebels did it ― an idea that is absurd, utter nonsense. First of all, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is already responsible for the brutal killing of more than 100,000 of his own

Viewpoints Sept. 11, 2013

Shinzo Abe’s joy at winning the 2020 Summer Olympics for Japan must have been deeply personal. His grandfather, Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, brought the 1964 Olympics to Tokyo. That event confirmed Japan’s phoenixlike rise from defeat in World War II. Its bullet trains, avant-garde stadiums and neon-lit skyline advertised a country and an economy prepared to take the lead in Asia and indeed the world.Pundits are already predicting a similar rebirth for Abe’s Japan after two decades of deflatio

Viewpoints Sept. 10, 2013