Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs articles from November 2002

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs archives from November 2002

Cuba: issues for Congress.
November 29, 2002... Summary Cuba remains a hard-line Communist state, with a poor record on human rights. Fidel Castro has ruled since he led the Cuban Revolution, ousting the corrupt government of Fulgencio Batista from power in 1959. With the cutoff of...

North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
November 27, 2002... SUMMARY North Korea's nuclear weapons program became an immediate foreign policy issue facing the United States because of North Korea's refusal to carry out its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and other...

Iran: current developments and U.S. policy.
November 26, 2002... SUMMARY Even before Iran's tacit cooperation with post-September 11 U.S. efforts to defeat Afghanistan's Taliban regime, signs of moderation in Iran had stimulated the United States to try to engage Iran in official talks. Iran, still...

Intelligence issues for Congress.
November 25, 2002... SUMMARY The U.S. Intelligence Community continues to adjust to the post-Cold War environment. Congressional and executive branch initiatives have emphasized enhancing cooperation among the different agencies that comprise the Community...

China's economic conditions.
November 22, 2002... SUMMARY Since the initiation of economic reforms in 1979, China has become one of the world's fastest growing economies. From 1979-2001, China's real GDP rose at an average annual rate of 9.4%; it rose by 7.3% in 2001. Many economists...

China-U.S. trade issues.
November 22, 2002... 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 $122 billion in 2001; China is now the fourth-largest U.S. trading partner. Yet, U.S.-China...

China-U.S. relations.
November 21, 2002... SUMMARY In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States, U.S. and PRC foreign policy calculations appear to be changing. The Administration of George W. Bush assumed office in January 2001 viewing China...

Saudi Arabia: current issues and U.S. relations.
November 21, 2002... 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...

Iraq: weapons threat, compliance, sanctions, and U.S. policy.
November 19, 2002... SUMMARY In recent years, the United States has been unable to maintain an international consensus for strict enforcement of all applicable U.N. Security Council resolutions on Iraq, but it has largely succeeded in preventing Iraq from...

Nuclear nonproliferation issues.
November 19, 2002... SUMMARY The United States has been a leader of worldwide efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. To this end, the international community and many individual states have agreed to a range of treaties, laws, and agreements,...

Trade and the Americas.
November 19, 2002... 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 have 34 members (Cuba is not...

Syria: U.S. relations and bilateral issues.
November 15, 2002... SUMMARY U.S.-Syrian relations have warmed somewhat in recent years as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Syria's participation in the allied coalition against Iraq in 1991, and Syrian agreement to participate in Arab-Israeli...

Israeli-United States relations.
November 14, 2002... 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.
November 14, 2002... 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...

Russia.
November 14, 2002... SUMMARY Vladimir Putin, who was catapulted into the Kremlin following 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...

Visa issuances: policy, issues, and legislation.
November 14, 2002... Summary Since the September 11 terrorist attacks, considerable concern has been raised because the 19 terrorists were aliens who apparently entered the United States legally despite provisions in immigration laws that bar the admission...

North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
November 8, 2002... SUMMARY North Korea's nuclear weapons program became an immediate foreign policy issue facing the United States because of North Korea's refusal to carry out its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and other...

Central Asia's new states: political developments and implications for U.S. interests.
November 7, 2002... SUMMARY After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States recognized the independence of all the former Central Asian republics and established diplomatic relations with each by mid-March 1992. The United States also...

India-U.S. relations.
November 7, 2002... 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...

Agriculture and fast track or trade promotion authority.
November 7, 2002... Summary New "fast track," or trade promotion, authority (TPA) cleared the 107th Congress, and was signed into law (P.L. 107-210) on August 6, 2002. Such authority enables the Administration to submit negotiated foreign trade agreements...

The intelligence community and 9/11: proposals for an independent commission.
November 6, 2002... Summary There is significant support for an independent commission to assess the performance of the U.S. Intelligence Community in regard to the September 11, 2001 attacks, despite the fact that a joint inquiry by the Senate and House...

Terrorism, the future, and U.S. foreign policy.
November 4, 2002... SUMMARY International terrorism has long been recognized as a foreign and domestic security threat. The tragic events of September 11 in New York, the Washington, D.C., area, and Pennsylvania have dramatically re-energized the nation's...

NATO enlargement.
November 4, 2002... Summary This report provides a brief summary of the last round of NATO enlargement, then sketches recent events culminating in preparations for the NATO summit in Prague on November 21-22, 2002. The report analyzes the key military and...

Sudan: humanitarian crisis, peace talks, terrorism, and U.S. policy.
November 1, 2002... SUMMARY Sudan, geographically the largest country in Africa, has been ravaged by civil war intermittently for 4 decades. An estimated 2 million people have died over the past decade due to war-related causes and famine, and millions have...