In an appearance at the annual Asean summit, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice described the Burmese junta’s plan for the gradual restoration of democracy to Burma as a “mockery which is going nowhere.” While this may have grated on some of the participants as not sufficiently diplomatic, it is the cold, hard, indisputable truth. Lest anyone forget, it has been 18 long years since Burma’s 1990 elections when the National League for Democracy and its allies won 82% of the parliamentary seats, and were never allowed to take office.
Posted July 25, 2008

This year’s G8 Summit at Toyako, Japan, was seen by most observers as a disappointment. The agreements that were reached lacked creativity and teeth, whether on climate change, Zimbabwe, development assistance, or the fuel and food crisis, the club seems to have run out of ideas. But amid these setbacks, one de facto great power emerged in a strengthened position -- even though it is not a member of the club.
Posted July 25, 2008

These days, challenges to Pakistan’s sovereignty and security come from friends and foes alike. Even as Pakistan faces escalating militant violence within its borders, U.S. policy makers have threatened “hot pursuit” of militants into the tribal belt. At this critical juncture, the U.S. approach should be to strengthen Pakistan’s capacity to combat violent extremism instead of engaging in words and actions that could further destabilize the country and region.
Posted July 24, 2008

On a recent night in Yarkand, a town in the southwest of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, I spied about a dozen members of the People's Liberation Army wielding clubs resembling baseball bats near my hotel. While the soldiers looked more bored than menacing, they served as a reminder that Xinjiang is, and will remain, part of China.
Posted July 23, 2008

Kathleen McLaughlin has been a journalist in China for more than seven years and has covered regional issues including economics, the environment and governmental regulation. Recently she applied for a foreign journalist's permit to visit Tibet and was granted permission to do so. She is one of the first foreign journalists since March 2008 allowed to travel independently to Tibet, although regulations still require hiring a government-approved guide. During her five-day trip, she is sending dispatches from Lhasa for the REVIEW.