US prepares for action against Syria August 29, 2013

North Korea looks ready to talk about detained US citizen By Steven Borowiec August 30, 2013 US Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Robert King was slated to arrive today in Pyongyang to seek the release of a US citizen sentenced to 15 years hard labor in North Korea, a move that could open […]

The immoral, silent killer: Why chemical warfare instills in people a fear that conventional attacks do not By Tom Blackwell August 30, 2013 In little more than two years, the Syrian civil war has distinguished itself as a particularly vicious conflict. The United Nations estimates conservatively that more than 100,000 people have died, including thousands […]

North Korea’s Olive Branch to U.S. May Not Bear Fruit By Jonathan Cheng August 28, 2013 With U.S. diplomat Robert King headed to Pyongyang this week, the focus turns from North Korea’s rapprochement with its southern neighbor to its still-tense relationship with the United States. There’s reason to be optimistic that trans-Pacific relations will improve, […]

Backgrounder: Clues to a Chemical Weapons Attack in Syria By Jocelyn Kaiser August 28, 2013 The United States is weighing a military strike against Syria after concluding that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is responsible for an “undeniable” chemical attack that killed hundreds of people. This week, U.N. investigators are interviewing survivors and collecting samples in […]