Defense & Security Archive

KAMPALA, Uganda — Northern Uganda has been mired in violent conflict for over 20 years. And though it rarely receives as many headlines as nearby fighting in Darfur, Somalia, or even Eastern Congo, the war in Northern Uganda, one of Africa’s longest running conflicts and humanitarian disasters, is inching toward a possible resolution. In Juba, Southern Sudan, negotiators from the government of Uganda and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) recently signed the third phase of a five-part peace agreement. The progress is important, but the government of Uganda and its Western sponsors still have much to answer for. Even […]

Cao Gangchuan recently completed the first visit by a Chinese defense minister to Japan since then-minister Chi Haotian made such a trip in February 1998. During Cao’s five-day sojourn, he met with senior Japanese political and military leaders, including the new Japanese Defense Minister, Masahiko Komura. Cao’s visit to Japan helped advance the modest détente that has characterized Sino-Japanese relations since Shinzo Abe became Japanese prime minister in September 2006. Abe has prioritized improving the ties between China and Japan, which had deteriorated sharply under his predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi. Cao invited Komura to make an official visit to China sometime […]

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Uncertainty about Lebanon’s political stability in an atmosphere of increasing sectarian division and rumors that Hezbollah is beefing up for an offensive against Israel are testing the allegiances of women loyal to the paramilitary group. Given the influence of women in Hezbollah, their ambivalence has the potential to spread further and ultimately shake the foundation of its political support among Lebanon’s Shiites. While tens of thousands gathered last month to commemorate the anniversary of Hezbollah’s self-declared “divine victory” against Israel (which left more than 1,200 Lebanese and 150 Israelis dead), some Hezbollah supporters question whether the sectarian […]

WASHINGTON — In early August, Seattle-based Boeing, the nation’s second-largest weapons manufacturer, extended invitations to several East Coast-based online journalists to ride on a lavish Boeing corporate jet to Everett, Wash., to tour the company’s 767 airplane factory. Boeing’s aim: to win some good-will from a relatively neglected slice of the media as the company vies for one of the biggest and most important military contracts in decades. In coming months, perhaps as early as December, the U.S. Air Force will decide between Boeing and a partnership of Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman and the European firm EADS for a $40-billion […]

For decades during the Cold War, the United States sought nuclear primacy. Now it may be on the verge of achieving it. As America’s presidential candidates begin to articulate positions on nuclear policy, it is worth remembering that in all dealings with the nuclear genie, you should be careful what you wish for. . . . When a state can obliterate its adversary’s arsenal with a first strike, it is said to possess nuclear primacy. America had primacy early in the Cold War, but the Soviet Union’s acquisition of a secure second strike capability in the 1960s ushered in the […]

NEW YORK — A Chinese general was appointed to command a United Nations peacekeeping mission for the first time on Aug. 27. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Maj. Gen. Zhao Jingmin to lead the mission in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, where U.N. peacekeepers have monitored a ceasefire between Morocco and the Polisario Front, an armed separatist group, since 1991. Zhao will replace Gen. Kurt Mosgaard of Denmark, who completed his tour of duty Sept. 3, according to U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas. Zhao has an impressive biography and his appointment is not expected to generate any controversy in the Security […]

At the end of August, Iranian presidential spokesman Ali Akbar Javanfekr threatened to turn to “other candidates” to complete the country’s long-delayed nuclear power plant at Bushehr if “problems arise again” between Tehran and Moscow over the project. The previous month, European officials related that the Russian government had informed Iran in July that Moscow would refuse to supply nuclear fuel for the Russian-built nuclear reactor until Tehran provides more details about its past nuclear activities to the international community. These reports might indicate that the Russian government has finally decided to suspend cooperation with Iran’s nuclear program until Tehran […]