Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs articles from June 2003

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs archives from June 2003

Iraq: United Nations and humanitarian aid organizations.
June 2, 2003... Summary The war with Iraq, which began on March 19, 2003, has now moved into a new phase as a result of coalition forces controlling all of the major cites in Iraq and the end of the Iraqi political and military leadership. Currently, the...

Jordan: U.S. relations and bilateral issues.
June 2, 2003... SUMMARY The death of King Hussein on February 7, 1999, removed a strong U.S. ally and force for stability; however, his son and successor, King Abdullah, has continued to follow the late King's moderate and pro-western policies. In recent...

Cuba: issues for the 108th congress.
June 3, 2003... Summary Cuba remains a hard-line Communist state, with a poor record on human rights that has deteriorated significantly in 2003. Fidel Castro has ruled since he ousted the corrupt government of Fulgencio Batista from power in 1959. With...

Pakistan-U.S. relations.
June 5, 2003... SUMMARY Major areas of U.S. concern regarding Pakistan include regional terrorism; weapons proliferation; the ongoing Kashmir dispute and Pakistan-India tensions; human rights protection; and economic development. A U.S.-Pakistan...

Israel: U.S. foreign assistance.
June 6, 2003... SUMMARY Israel is not economically self-sufficient, and relies on foreign assistance and borrowing to maintain its economy. Since 1985, the United States has provided $3 billion in grants annually to Israel. Since 1976, Israel has been the...

Terrorism and national security: issues and trends.
June 6, 2003... SUMMARY International terrorism has long been recognized as a serious foreign and domestic security threat. This issue brief examines international terrorist actions and threats and the U.S. policy response. Available policy options range...

North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
June 9, 2003... SUMMARY North Korea's decisions to restart nuclear installations at Yongbyon that were shut down under the U.S.-North Korean Agreed Framework of 1994 and withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty create an acute foreign policy...

Syria: U.S. relations and bilateral issues.
June 9, 2003... SUMMARY Syria, governed by President Hafiz al-Asad from 1970 until his death in June 2000, is a prominent player in the Middle East scene. Within the region, a number of border disputes, problems of resource allocation, and political...

U.S.-European Union trade relations: issues and policy challenges.
June 9, 2003... SUMMARY The United States and European Union (EU) share a huge and mutually beneficial economic partnership. Not only is the U.S.-EU trade and investment relationship the largest in the world, it is arguably the most important. Agreement...

War on drugs: legislation in the 108th Congress and current national developments.
June 9, 2003... SUMMARY Prohibiting the non-medical use of certain mind-altering substances has been a public policy goal of the federal government for more than a century. Drug abuse is a problem in the United States due to its economic cost,...

Nigeria in political transition.
June 10, 2003... SUMMARY On June 8, 1998, General Sani Abacha, the military leader who took power in Nigeria in 1993, died of a reported heart attack and was replaced by General Abdulsalam Abubakar. On July 7, 1998, Moshood Abiola, the believed winner of...

Drug control: international policy and approaches.
June 11, 2003... SUMMARY Efforts to significantly reduce the flow of illicit drugs from abroad into the United States have so far not succeeded. Moreover, over the past decade, worldwide production of illicit drugs has risen dramatically: opium and...

China-U.S. relations: current issues for the 108th Congress.
June 12, 2003... Summary In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States, U.S. and People's Republic of China (PRC) foreign policy calculations appeared to change. The Administration of George W. Bush assumed office in...

India-U.S. relations.
June 12, 2003... SUMMARY Although the end of the cold war freed India-U.S. relations from the constraints of global bipolarity, New Delhi-Washington relations continued for a decade to be affected by the burden of history, most notably the longstanding...

Iraq: U.S. regime change efforts and post-war governance.
June 12, 2003... Summary In his 2002 and 2003 State of the Union messages, President Bush characterized Iraq as a grave potential threat to the United States because of its refusal to abandon its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs as required by...

Israeli-United States relations.
June 12, 2003... SUMMARY Israeli-U.S. relations are an important factor in U.S. policy in the Middle East, and Congress has placed considerable importance on the maintenance of a close and supportive relationship. The main vehicle for expressing support...

Palestinians and Middle East peace: issues for the United States.
June 12, 2003... SUMMARY The United States began contacts with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in December 1988, after the PLO accepted Israel's right to exist, accepted U.N. Resolutions 242 and 338 that call for an exchange of land for peace,...

Peacekeeping: issues of U.S. military involvement.
June 12, 2003... SUMMARY For about a decade, Congress has expressed reservations about many complex and intertwined peacekeeping issues. The Bush Administration's desire to reduce the commitment of U.S. troops to international peacekeeping parallels the...

The Middle East peace talks.
June 12, 2003... SUMMARY The end of the Cold War, the decline of the Soviet Union, and the U.S.-led victory in the Gulf war facilitated the beginning of a new peace process in 1991. Israel and the Palestinians discussed a 5-year period of interim self-rule...

Afghanistan: current issues and U.S. policy.
June 13, 2003... Summary Afghanistan is a fragile state attempting, with substantial U.S. help and guidance, to stabilize after more than 22 years of warfare, including a U.S.-led war that brought the current government to power. Before the U.S. military...

Campaign activity by churches: legal analysis of Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act, H.R. 235 (108th Congress).
June 16, 2003... Summary Churches and other Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations can lose their tax-exempt status if they participate in a political campaign. The Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act, H.R. 235...

Trade and the Americas.
June 18, 2003... SUMMARY At the Summit of the Americas held in December 1994, 34 hemispheric democracies agreed to create a "Free Trade Area of the Americas" (FTAA) no later than 2005. If created, the FTAA would be a $13 trillion market of 34 countries...

Pakistan's domestic political developments: issues for congress.
June 19, 2003... Summary In October 2002, Pakistani national elections nominally fulfilled President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's promise to restore the National Assembly that was dissolved in the wake of his extra-constitutional seizure of power in October...

Appropriations for FY2004: foreign operations, export financing, and related programs.
June 20, 2003... Summary The annual Foreign Operations appropriations bill is the primary legislative vehicle through which Congress reviews the U.S. foreign aid budget and influences executive branch foreign policy making generally. It contains the...

Intelligence issues for Congress.
June 20, 2003... SUMMARY The U.S. Intelligence Community continues to adjust to the 21st Century environment. Congressional and executive branch initiatives have emphasized enhancing cooperation among the different agencies that comprise the Community by...

Egypt-United States relations.
June 24, 2003... SUMMARY U.S.-Egyptian relations are tied to maintaining regional stability, improving bilateral relations focused on Egyptian economic development and military cooperation, developing Egypt's democracy, sustaining the March 1979...

A free trade area of the Americas: status of negotiations and major policy issues.
June 25, 2003... Summary At the second Summit of the Americas in Santiago, Chile (April 1998), 34 Western Hemisphere nations agreed to initiate formal negotiations to create a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) by 2005. The process so far has led to...

Iran: current developments and U.S. policy.
June 26, 2003... SUMMARY The Bush Administration is re-evaluating policy toward Iran. During the late 1990s, signs of moderation in Iran had stimulated the United States to try to engage Iran in broad, official talks. Relations took another downturn when...

HIV/AIDS international programs: appropriations, FY2002--FY2004.
June 30, 2003... Summary The Administration's FY2004 request for international HIV/AIDS spending would commit $450 million to a new Global AIDS Initiative to be administered by the Department of State. This is the principal FY2004 component of the...