The Korea Herald

[Joel Brinkley] A temple and a tempest at the border

ViewpointsFeb 23, 2011

Across the Middle East and beyond, kings and dictators are quaking in their castles, afraid their people will throw them from power. All except one, that is.In Cambodia, long-time dictator Hun Sen, like his fellow potentates around the world, watched the news and figured out his own strategy. He decided to give a speech and threaten his people.“I would like to tell you that if you want to strike a
[Editorial] A farcical thriller

EditorialFeb 22, 2011

A 50-strong Indonesian government and business delegation visited Seoul for three days last week to promote trade and cooperation in defense industry projects. The group, which included defense, industry, trade, economic planning and investment ministers, came here under an agreement between President Lee Myung-bak and Susilo Yudhoyono in Bali last December.They made a courtesy call on the Blue Ho
[Editorial] Bloodshed in Libya

EditorialFeb 22, 2011

Moammar Gadhafi of Libya looked firmly in control when popular protests brought down the autocratic ruler in Tunisia to the west and toppled another long-running regime in Egypt to the east weeks ago. Even when angry residents of some Libyan cities stormed into the construction sites of Korean firms, injuring workers and destroying furniture, it was seen as a simple outburst of discontent at the g
Bare minimum arms necessity for Indonesia

ViewpointsFeb 22, 2011

The offer of two squadrons of used F-16 jet fighters ― gratis ― from the United States seems too good to be true. With its aging defense weaponry systems in desperate need of upgrading, the Indonesian Military (TNI) signaled last week it had accepted the offer under a U.S. grant. The ball is back in the U.S. court to decide whether to proceed with the deal or not.But wait. Nothing is as free as it
[Abeer Mohammed] Iraqis view Egypt with admiration

ViewpointsFeb 22, 2011

BAGHDAD ― Frustrated with high unemployment, poor public services and corruption, Iraqis have been transfixed by media coverage of the uprising in Cairo. But while many are filled with admiration for the Egyptian people’s efforts, most here appear reluctant to follow suit.“I never watched any news on TV, but now I am following it daily,” said Namareq Sultan, 22, a medical student in Baghdad, regar
[Howard Davies] G20 summit and Sarkozy’s moment

ViewpointsFeb 22, 2011

LONDON ― A little more than three years ago, just as the financial crisis was getting into full swing, I published a guide to the international system of financial regulation, “Global Financial Regulation: The Essential Guide.” It described an elaborate spider’s web of committees, councils, and agencies with overlapping responsibilities, unrepresentative memberships, and inadequate enforcement pow
[Doyle McManus] Debt and a tough-talking governor

ViewpointsFeb 22, 2011

President Obama’s new budget contains no serious proposal for solving two of the biggest fiscal problems facing the federal government: Medicare and Social Security. And though Republican leaders in Congress are happy to take swipes at his proposals, they haven’t come up with a serious plan of their own to fix those popular programs either.But one potential Republican presidential candidate recent
[Albert Hunt] Republican budget cuts at heart of medical research

ViewpointsFeb 22, 2011

President Barack Obama’s call for “investments” in education, infrastructure and science and health research is dismissed by most congressional Republicans as a fig leaf for more big-government spending. That underlies the House’s decision Feb. 19 to slash $61 billion from an array of discretionary spending programs in the current fiscal year budget. This may make proponents feel good, yet, as alm
[Kim Seong-kon] Fulbright made the world bright

ViewpointsFeb 22, 2011

Perhaps the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright would never have known, but he changed my life completely. Had it not been for a Fulbright Scholarship which was awarded to me in 1977, I could not have studied overseas, and consequently, could not have become a professor at Seoul National University. Instead, I may have ended up a high school English teacher and been retired by now, unable to co
[Editorial] Seoul’s nuclear option

EditorialFeb 21, 2011

While the six-party denuclearization talks have been in recess for two years now with no sign that North Korea will return to the negotiating table anytime soon, calls for South Korea to set up its own nuclear armament are rising, mostly from conservatives. The proponents, including politicians and media commentators, argue that the South’s nuclear development will be the best means of pressure no
[Editorial] N. Korea and change

EditorialFeb 21, 2011

After the ouster of autocratic leaders in Tunisia and Egypt, pro-democracy uprisings are rapidly spreading in North Africa and the Middle East, with bloodshed reported in Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Algeria and Djibouti. The world community is now directing attention to countries in other continents under dictatorships, with many hoping to see similar popular protests will bring changes to the fates of
GOP lawmakers too deferential to defense

ViewpointsFeb 21, 2011

House Republicans are using a bill to fund the government through Sept. 30 as a vehicle to roll back spending on many programs favored by Democrats. But it’s easy for lawmakers to cut spending on someone else’s priorities. The real test of fiscal discipline is the scrutiny they give their own.For Republicans, that means the Defense Department ― by far the largest federal program funded through ann
The end of sound wave for Chinese audience

ViewpointsFeb 21, 2011

The Chinese audience will soon bid farewell to radio and TV broadcasts of the BBC and Voice of America in the Chinese language. VOA is the second mainstream Western media to announce plans to end its radio broadcasts in Chinese. Earlier, the BBC World Service decided to cancel a number of foreign-language services, including Chinese. The cut in the major Western media organizations’ Chinese langua
[Trudy Rubin] Two reasons Egypt just might succeed

ViewpointsFeb 21, 2011

CAIRO ― The air of hopefulness is so palpable in Egypt’s capital city ― as people try to digest what happened to them during their revolution ― that it’s easy to become a dreamer.This is Egypt’s interregnum of hope, a period that comes just after “people power” ousted a dictator, but before the meaning of the revolution has become truly clear. At this point, it’s still possible to imagine that Egy
[William Pfaff] U.S. can’t straddle fence much longer

ViewpointsFeb 21, 2011

PARIS ― Revolutions are known for devouring their children, but the people making the current revolution in the Middle East may prove indigestible. In greater danger are the Israelis. As for the United States, it faces a choice between jettisoning its traditional policy of supporting Arab dictators, or repositioning itself ― which is a paralyzing situation to be in.Most American commentators and a