Japan’s likely new Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, will seek to amend the Japanese constitution to allow the country to use its military for non-defensive purposes. Combined with the material capabilities of the Japanese military and the perception that Japan glorifies World War II, the likelihood that Japan will be viewed as a regional threat is growing. Both domestic and international factors are pushing Japan to amend the Constitution. Domestically, as in Germany, there is a growing belief in Japan that World War II is long past, and the country should no longer act like a chastened nation. Regionally, Japan is [...]
TIRANA, Albania — In attempt to boost its bid for a 2008 accession into NATO, the Albanian government has hired former U.S. homeland security chief Tom Ridge as a consultant to Prime Minster Sali Berisha. Ridge, a former governor of Pennsylvania and congressman, was appointed as the United State’s first homeland security adviser on October 8, 2001, shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Ridge went on to become the first secretary of Homeland Security, overseeing the consolidation of the massive new department, created in the largest federal reorganization since World War II. Ridge resigned from government in December 2004. [...]
Turkey’s giving up on Europe and looking East instead, A.Q. Khan’s a hero in Pakistan, Chavez is buying influence, China’s rewriting history, it’s somehow getting worse in Sudan, sanctions will just inflame North Korea and the United States should cut a deal with the Taliban to fix Afghanistan. In a nutshell: The op-ed pages ran the gambit this week. But one theme did emerge. With the five-year anniversary of September 11 upon us, there was no shortage of reflective articles about how the world has, or has not, changed since New York’s twin towers came crumbling down. “It was the [...]
