36 Results for:

December 9, 2013

North Korea
The Removal of Jang Song-taek

There is nothing like a good purge to spark off speculation about the future of an opaque totalitarian regime like the one in North Korea. The problem, of course, is that unless one knows what is goi…

jang-song-taek-ousted

October 14, 2012

United States
TWE Remembers: Maj. Richard Heyser Flies a U-2 Over Cuba

The U-2 is a remarkable plane. It can fly at altitudes above 70,000 feet for hours at a time, and it gave the United States an intelligence advantage from the moment it became operational in 1956. (T…

A CIA chart of "reconnaissance objectives in Cuba," dated October 5, 1962. (Dino A. Brugioni Collection, The National Security Archive, Washington, DC)

February 17, 2015

North Korea
North Korea’s Food Situation: Stable and Improving

When asked in his January 22 interview with YouTube [9:00 ff.] about the likely effects of greater sanctions on North Korea following the Sony hack, President Obama repeated a mantra widely associate…

nk-rice-paddy-field-2014

April 23, 2012

Defense and Security
Guest Post: Anya Schmemann on Putting the Squeeze on Belarus

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko earlier this month released a prominent political opponent and his aide from prison. The move looks to have been in response to tough travel bans and asset f…

Lukashenko-20120423

October 23, 2012

United States
TWE Remembers: The OAS Endorses a Quarantine of Cuba (Cuban Missile Crisis, Day Eight)

The first week of the Cuban missile crisis played out in secret. President John F. Kennedy and his advisers quietly evaluated the results of the U-2 overflights and formulated a response. But on Tues…

President John F. Kennedy signs Proclamation 3504 authorizing the quarantine of Cuba on October 23, 1962. (Abbie Rowe. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston)