Foreign Policy in Focus articles from August 2000

Foreign Policy in Focus archives from August 2000

U.S. Secrecy and Lies.
August 2, 2000... Secrets and lies have always been intrinsic to the functions of states. In a democracy, public tolerance of official secrecy tends to shift with the tides: in times of national emergency, such as war or civil unrest, people are willing to forgo...

Problems with Current U.S. Policy.
August 2, 2000... Between six and seven million U.S. government documents are stamped "classified" every year; about 17,000 daily. The president's own Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) does not know precisely how many millions--or billions--of secret...

Toward a New Foreign Policy.
August 2, 2000... President Clinton and Congress have, without a doubt, achieved a measure of change. Signposts have been laid pointing toward a more rational system, and even the most closed agencies have made concessions to openness heretofore deemed...

The War Between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
August 7, 2000... Even by the shocking standards of recent African conflicts, the May 1998-June 2000 war in the Horn of Africa is truly appalling. As many as 100,000 people have been killed in the intermittent, but savage fighting; up to one million people have...

Problems with Current U.S. Policy.
August 7, 2000... With commendable speed, the United States and Rwanda led international efforts to broker a cease-fire and end the Eritrean-Ethiopian conflict. In the second half of May 1998, a joint U.S./Rwandan mission, led by Assistant Secretary of State for...

Toward a New Foreign Policy.
August 7, 2000... There are clear lessons for Washington to learn in the Ethiopian-Eritrean war. These lessons reinforce failures of U.S. policy and understanding in Central Africa, the Great Lakes, Somalia, and elsewhere. There is a need for more accurate...

Overcoming the Legacy of the Vietnam War.
August 9, 2000... Twenty-five years ago, on April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese troops marched into Saigon, ending what Vietnamese call the "American War" and leading to the reunification of the country. The war cost the lives of three million Vietnamese on both...

Problems With Current U.S. Policy.
August 9, 2000... U.S. officials argue that the responsibility for improving relations lies largely with Vietnam. But even after signing the bilateral trade agreement, many obstacles remain on the American side. Why, for instance, has the U.S. granted permanent...

Toward a New Foreign Policy.
August 9, 2000... Breaking the current deadlock in U.S.-Vietnam relations requires substantive new initiatives on the part of the United States. Of primary importance is the bilateral trade agreement--not because signing it will bring Vietnam the economic...

Sharing and Reducing the Military Burden.
August 14, 2000... In February 1999, the House Banking Committee asked Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan to explain why he thought the U.S. economy had been doing so well. Among the probable reasons, Greenspan listed "the freeing up of resources previously...

Problems with Current U.S. Policy.
August 14, 2000... The issue of military burden sharing has gotten more complicated recently. Late in 1999, the European Union (EU) announced plans to launch a European Security Defense Initiative (ESDI) creating its own security force. This is not the mode of...

Toward a New Foreign Policy.
August 14, 2000... Recent polls conducted by the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes show majorities of both European and U.S. citizens supporting NATO, particularly as a vehicle for burden sharing. Polls on U.S. defense spending...