Articles written by Richard Weitz
By Richard Weitz
27 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
In terms of volume, the documents posted on the WikiLeaks Web site represent one of the largest publications on the Internet of classified
U.S. government material. But in terms of content, the documents don't tell us anything that most people who have
been following the war don't already know. But the leaked documents are likely to have minor initial
effects that could ultimately have a major impact.
By Richard Weitz
20 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
The member states of the OSCE took resolute action to assist fellow
member, Kyrgyzstan, which remains vulnerable to further mass violence
and other disorders due to its multiple difficulties. At an informal
meeting this weekend, the foreign ministers of the 56-state grouping
endorsed a package plan to increase the OSCE's presence in the region as
a catalyst to mobilize further international support for the
beleaguered country.
By Richard Weitz
16 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
Kazakhstan's natural resources, booming economy, and strategic
geographic location have made it an emerging star in world politics.
Under President
Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan has remained committed to a
"multi-vector" foreign policy. Kazakhstan's
assumption of the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe this year marks a new phase in its foreign
policy, giving it additional opportunities but also novel challenges.
By Richard Weitz
13 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
Russia and the United States have recently confirmed that
they will miss their already extended deadlines for eliminating their
stockpiles of chemical weapons, as required by the Chemical Weapons Convention. Though this failure could theoretically lead to bitter
denunciations as well as concrete sanctions, in practice, it illustrates the difficulties involved in efforts to destroy their chemical weapons holdings.
By Richard Weitz
06 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
Almost everyone would welcome greater cooperation between Moscow and
Washington on ballistic missile defense. But decades of frustrating
experience have taught us that this is precisely the wrong issue to make
the centerpiece of the U.S.-Russia reset. Rather than waste time
and goodwill on the endeavor, we need to think more creatively about
deepening bilateral collaboration regarding other issues.
By Richard Weitz
29 Jun 2010 |
World Politics Review
Perhaps the most surprising feature of the protracted crisis in
Kyrgyzstan is what has not happened: Neither of Eurasia's two
preeminent regional security institutions, the CSTO and the SCO, have coordinated a military intervention in that country. Despite expectations, neither organization has yet become a modern
version of the Warsaw Pact, using military and police power to keep its
client regimes in power.
By Richard Weitz
29 Jun 2010 |
World Politics Review
The first official visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Washington last
week offers a convenient opportunity to assess the current Russian-U.S.
relationship. Since assuming office, one of the priorities of U.S. President
Barack Obama and his foreign policy team has been to improve bilateral ties. Although areas of tension persist, relations between the two countries have improved
in important respects, benefiting both.
By Richard Weitz
22 Jun 2010 |
World Politics Review
The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime released a report yesterday showing the
devastating effects of domestically produced opium on Afghanistan's own
population. It complements others that have highlighted the suffering that Afghan opium and heroin cause in other countries, and makes it clear that solving the Afghan drug challenge will require a
comprehensive multilateral approach.
By Richard Weitz
15 Jun 2010 |
World Politics Review
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, it has become commonplace to
write of a
new "Great Game"
in Central Asia, pitting Russia, China, and NATO countries led by the
U.S in a race for influence and access. But despite all the worries about the potential for
international conflict, the distinctive feature of the current crisis in
Kyrgyzstan is the reluctance of all the major powers to intervene
there.
By Richard Weitz
08 Jun 2010 |
World Politics Review
Now that the G-20 has taken the lead in managing the
world economy, many commentators are eager to do away with its
predecessor in that role, the Group of Eight. Such a focus,
however, neglects the
G-8's important security functions.
Since the 1980s, the group has given birth to major initiatives
promoting global peace and security. The G-20 lacks the assets
that have made the G-8 so effective in this area.
By Richard Weitz
01 Jun 2010 |
World Politics Review
Israel's interdiction yesterday
of a humanitarian aid flotilla heading toward the blockaded Gaza Strip
could have several consequences, few of them good for the United States or
the Mideast peace process. The Obama administration has a limited amount of time before it will be confronted
with significant dilemmas, including the potential decision of whether
or not to veto a Security Council resolution sanctioning Israel for the
incident.
By Richard Weitz
25 May 2010 |
World Politics Review
Last week, the group of experts assisting with the drafting of NATO's
new Strategic Concept released their final
report, recommending how the alliance should define its
purpose, nature, and fundamental security tasks in the contemporary and
future security environment. But despite the report expressing interest in promoting NATO-Russian cooperation, most Russian commentary has been generally negative.
By Richard Weitz
18 May 2010 |
World Politics Review
Yesterday's joint
declaration by Brazil, Turkey and Iran
does not end the Iranian nuclear crisis. With luck, it may mark the
beginning of the end, though it will need to overcome some major hurdles
even to achieve that goal. The new agreement appears to have
resurrected last year's proposed fuel swap deal, which failed when the parties were unable to resolve their differences due to
their mutual suspicions.
By Richard Weitz
11 May 2010 |
World Politics Review
Much of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's activities in Washington this
week will center on his efforts to secure American support for his new peace plan -- and specifically,
the controversial issue of negotiating with the Taliban. The proposed plan would set conditions by which some high-level Taliban defectors could re-enter political
life, while also trying to reintegrate lower-level fighters into civilian life.
By Richard Weitz
04 May 2010 |
World Politics Review
In recent weeks, the members of the Obama administration have developed a
comprehensive strategy for the Eighth Review Conference of the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty, which began yesterday. The administration's
declared position is to use the conference and other opportunities to
strengthen all three of the treaty's core objectives or "pillars":
disarmament, nonproliferation, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
By Richard Weitz
28 Apr 2010 |
World Politics Review
Despite fist fights and smoke bombs within the parliament building as
well as protests outside the Supreme Rada, Ukrainian legislators
yesterday ratified the controversial Russian-Ukraine base-for-gas
agreement. But if Western governments have not paid much public attention to the controversial deal, it is in part because it will not appreciably change the balance of power in the Black Sea
region.
By Richard Weitz
27 Apr 2010 |
World Politics Review
At a meeting
last week in Tallinn, Estonia, the foreign ministers of NATO's
member states began addressing the question of what to do about the
estimated 200 U.S. tactical nuclear weapons stationed in Belgium,
Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey. The missiles' controversial
presence is shaping up to be the most important issue facing the
alliance's heads of state during their November 2010 summit in Lisbon.
By Richard Weitz
20 Apr 2010 |
World Politics Review
Now that the Nuclear Security Summit
will become a recurring event, national governments will need to integrate this new mechanism
with the existing major multinational efforts designed to counter
nuclear terrorism. Last week's summit documents endorsed the activities of three prominent initiatives without
specifying how the newly institutionalized Nuclear Security Summit
process will relate to them.
By Richard Weitz
13 Apr 2010 |
World Politics Review
Today's Nuclear Security Summit is the largest gathering of world
leaders in Washington ever hosted by an American president. Despite the
importance of this event, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
decided to skip the meeting. His move highlights the problems the
world's leaders confront in preventing the feared wave of nuclear
weapons proliferation in the Middle East.
By Richard Weitz
09 Apr 2010 |
World Politics Review
Last month's terrorist bombings of the Moscow Metro along with surging Islamic-inspired violence in southern Russia
suggest that the Kremlin has yet to overcome longstanding Muslim
hostility to Moscow's control of the North Caucasus. Although Moscow recently adopted a strategy emphasizing economic reconstruction in the region, the Moscow
massacre risks triggering another wave of reciprocal
violence.
