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

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

Korea: U.S.-Korean relations--issues for congress.
May 1, 2003... SUMMARY North Korea's decision in December 2002 to restart nuclear installations at Yongbyon that were shut down under the U.S.-North Korean Agreed Framework of 1994 and its announced withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...

Libya.
May 1, 2003... SUMMARY The United Nations Security Council passed three resolutions that placed sanctions on Libya until Libya surrendered for trial two men suspected of bombing Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 and French flight UTA 772 in 1989. Libya...

North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
May 1, 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...

War on drugs: legislation in the 108th congress and related developments.
May 1, 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,...

Afghanistan: current issues and U.S. policy.
May 2, 2003... Summary Afghanistan is stabilizing 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 against the Taliban began on October 7, 2001, Afghanistan had...

NATO enlargement: Senate advice and consent.
May 2, 2003... Summary The Senate is expected to vote on the resolution for NATO enlargement sometime in early to mid-May. The enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1998 to include Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, and...

Egypt-United States relations.
May 5, 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...

Latin America and the Caribbean: issues for the 108th Congress.
May 5, 2003... Summary This report, which will be updated periodically, examines issues in U.S. policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing especially on the role of Congress and congressional concerns. For more details and discussion, see...

NATO enlargement.
May 5, 2003... Summary This report provides a brief summary of the last round of NATO enlargement. The report analyzes the key military and political issues in the debate over seven prospective members named at NATO's Prague summit. It then provides an...

NATO's decision-making procedure.
May 5, 2003... Summary This report provides a brief analysis of NATO's decision-making procedures, with several examples of how the allies have handled sensitive issues in the past. It describes the February 2003 dispute over providing NATO defense...

Palestinians and Middle East peace: issues for the United States.
May 5, 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,...

Pakistan-U.S. relations.
May 6, 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...

South Korean politics and rising "anti-Americanism": implications for U.S. policy toward North Korea.
May 6, 2003... Summary In December 2002, South Koreans elected Roh Moo-hyun, a little-known, self-educated lawyer, as their president. The left-of-center Roh narrowly defeated the conservative candidate, Lee Hoi Chang. Roh ran on a platform of reform,...

United Nations peacekeeping: issues for congress.
May 7, 2003... SUMMARY A major issue facing the United Nations, the United States, and Congress concerning United Nations peacekeeping is the extent to which the United Nations has the capacity to restore or keep the peace in the changing world...

Weapons of mass destruction: trade between North Korea and Pakistan.
May 7, 2003... Summary In October 2002, North Korea reportedly admitted it had a clandestine uranium enrichment program, and the press reported that Pakistan had exchanged centrifuge enrichment technology for North Korean help in developing longer range...

India-U.S. relations.
May 9, 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.
May 9, 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...

Trade and the Americas.
May 12, 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 the year 2005. If created, the FTAA would be a $13 trillion market of 34...

U.S.-European Union trade relations: issues and policy challenges.
May 12, 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...

Syria: U.S. relations and bilateral issues.
May 13, 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...

A free trade area of the Americas: status of negotiations and major policy issues.
May 14, 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...

Israel: U.S. foreign assistance.
May 14, 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...

Israeli-United States relations.
May 14, 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...

Intelligence issues for Congress.
May 15, 2003... SUMMARY The U.S. Intelligence Community continues to adjust to the21st Century environment. Congressional and executive branch initiatives have emphasized enhancing cooperation among the different agencies that comprise the Community by...

China-U.S. trade issues.
May 16, 2003... SUMMARY U.S.-China economic ties have expanded substantially over the past several years. Total U.S.-China trade rose from $5 billion in 1980 to $147 billion in 2002. China is now the fourth-largest U.S. trading partner. With a huge...

The Middle East peace talks.
May 16, 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...

Saudi Arabia: current issues and U.S. relations.
May 16, 2003... SUMMARY Saudi Arabia, a monarchy ruled by the Saudi dynasty, enjoys special importance in the international community because of its unique association with the Islamic religion and its oil wealth. Since the establishment of the modern...

Taiwan's accession to the WTO and its economic relations with the United States and China.
May 16, 2003... Summary After several years of negotiations, Taiwan joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), the international organization that sets rules for most international trade, on January 1, 2002. Taiwan's WTO membership is expected to...

Iraq: oil-for-food program, international sanctions, and illicit trade.
May 19, 2003... Summary The "oil-for-food" program has been the centerpiece of a long-standing U.N. Security Council effort to alleviate human suffering in Iraq while maintaining key elements of the Gulf war-related sanctions regime. It is expected to be...

Africa: U.S. foreign assistance issues.
May 20, 2003... SUMMARY Amounts requested by the Bush Administration for assistance to Africa in FY2004 closely parallel amounts provided in FY2003. Child Survival and Health Assistance, combined with Development Assistance (DA), would total $1.041...

Campaign financing.
May 20, 2003... SUMMARY Concerns over financing federal elections have become a seemingly perennial aspect of our political system, long centered on the enduring issues of high campaign costs and reliance on interest groups for needed campaign funds. ...

China's economic conditions.
May 21, 2003... SUMMARY Since the initiation of economic reforms in 1979, China has become one of the world's fastest growing economies. From 1979-2002, China's real GDP rose at an average annual rate of 9.3%; it rose by an estimated 8.0% in 2002. Many...

The budget for fiscal year 2004.
May 22, 2003... Summary The President's fiscal year (FY) 2004 budget included a deficit of $307 billion (an estimated 2.7% of gross domestic product, GDP). Under the President's proposals and estimates, the deficit would shrink through FY2008, the last...

Cuba: issues for the 108th Congress.
May 22, 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...

Al Qaeda after the Iraq conflict.
May 23, 2003... Summary The May 12, 2003, suicide bombings of three Western housing compounds in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia reopened questions about the strength and viability of Al Qaeda in the post-Iraq conflict environment. The apprehension of a number of...

Intelligence to counter terrorism: issues for Congress.
May 27, 2003... Summary For well over a decade international terrorism has been a major concern of the U.S. Intelligence Community. Collection assets of all kinds have long been focused on Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. Intensive analytical...

AIDS in Africa.
May 29, 2003... SUMMARY Sub-Saharan Africa has been far more severely affected by AIDS than any other part of the world. The United Nations reports that 29.4 million adults and children are infected with the HIV virus in the region, which has about 10% of...

Russia.
May 29, 2003... SUMMARY Vladimir Putin, catapulted into the Kremlin by Boris Yeltsin's resignation, was elected President on March 26, 2000 by a solid majority that embraced his military campaign in Chechnya. Parties backing Putin did well in the December...

HIV/AIDS international programs: appropriations, FY2002 - FY2004.
May 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...