Foreign Affairs

If you are interested in obtaining authoritative information about what the United States is now facing with respect to global terrorism and you don't have easy access to a university library, you will find that the Web will serve you very well. In fact, in many cases you will be able to find excellent source material more rapidly with the Web than by using a library. Many in-depth scholarly articles and essays providing historical, religious, and cultural contexts, detailed analyses, and forecasts are available, some by subscription but many gratis. Many foreign policy think tanks are online and provide a wealth of information and up-to-the-minute policy analyses. Not sure where Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, or Turkmenistan are? The are many splendid maps and capsule descriptions of these countries provided by the Central Intelligence Agency, Library of Congress, and CNN Web sites. Don't ignore search engines (www.google.com, for example) in searching for information, especially if you have a well-defined topic or article title. The list below is only representative of the myriad of Web sites providing high quality information on international affairs.

Think tanks, foreign policy journals, reference works, and research institutes:

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
www.wilsoncenter.org
Established by an act of Congress in 1968, the Wilson Center is our nation's official living memorial to President Woodrow Wilson. It is a nonpartisan institution, supported by public and private funds, engaged in the study of national and world affairs. The Center establishes and maintains a lively, neutral forum for free and informed dialogue.

STRATFOR - Strategic Forecasting
www.stratfor.com
Analysis and strategic forecasting by a private company composed of business and intelligence professionals with backgrounds in the military, academia and think tanks.

United States Institute of Peace
www.usip.org
"The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan federal institution created and funded by Congress to strengthen the nation's capacity to promote the peaceful resolution of international conflict. Established in 1984, the Institute meets its congressional mandate through an array of programs, including grants, fellowships, conferences and workshops, library services, publications, and other educational activities. The Institute's Board of Directors is appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate."

Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS)
www.csis.org
"The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) seeks to advance global security and prosperity in an era of economic and political transformation by providing strategic insights and practical policy solutions to decisionmakers. CSIS serves as a strategic planning partner for the government by conducting research and analysis and developing policy initiatives that look into the future and anticipate change. CSIS publishes The Washington Quarterly.

Foreign Policy Magazine Online
www.foreignpolicy.com
Global politics, economics and links to major think tanks, university programs, global reference guides, international intergovernmental organizations, regional sources, and more.

Council on Foreign Relations
www.cfr.org
Council on Foreign Relations is a nonpartisan organization international affairs and US foreign policy.

Foreign Affairs Journal Online
www.foreignaffairs.org
Journal of the Council on Foreign Relations. Authoritative foreign policy articles by university experts, US and non-US government policy makers and officials.

Foreign Affairs Essays on Terrorism
www.foreignaffairs.org/home/terrorism.asp
The journal "Foreign Affairs is making available previously published articles that contribute to an understanding of the tragic attacks on New York and Washington. Several of the essays analyze the nature of contemporary terrorism and the capabilities of the United States to combat it. Other essays provide the Middle Eastern and radical Islamic contexts for so much recent terrorism, including, apparently, the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon."

The Heritage Foundation
www.heritage.org
The Heritage Foundation is a think tank whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies.

Library of Congress Country Studies
lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs
" This website contains the on-line versions of books previously published in hard copy by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress under the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Army. Because the original intent of the Series' sponsor was to focus primarily on lesser known areas of the world or regions in which U.S. forces might be deployed, the series is not all-inclusive. At present, 101 countries and regions are covered."

Eurasianet
eurasianet.org
Sponsored by the Open Society Institute, "EurasiaNet provides information and analysis about political, economic, environmental and social developments in the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as in Russia, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. The web site also offers additional features, including newsmaker interviews, book reviews and a discussion forum. ........ The aim of EurasiaNet is to promote informed decision making among policy makers, as well as broadening interest in the region among the general public".

Institut Français des Relations Internationales
www.ifri.org
The French Institute of International Relations is France's leading center for research on international relations. The Web site has a version in english.

Middle East Forum
www.meforum.org
The Philadelphia-based Middle East Forum, a think tank, works to define and promote American interests in the Middle East. Founded in 1990, the Forum became an independent organization in 1994.

The Middle East Institute
www.mideasti.org
The Washington-based Middle East Institute site has a primer on Islam, policy papers, and many links to scholarly, business, and government sites.

Library of Congress September 11 Archive
september11.archive.org
Over 500,000 pages related to the terrost attacks and US reprisals.

World Factbook 2001
www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook
The World Factbook is prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency for the use of US Government officials. It is in the public domain. The Factbook provides maps and brief geopolitical information for every country. The online directory of chiefs of state and cabinet members of foreign governments is updated weekly.

Jane's Information Group
www.janes.com
Defence, aerospace, business, transportation, and security information online.

United Nations Action Against Terrorism
www.un.org/terrorism
Security Council, General Assembly, and Secretary General actions; Dag Hammarskjoeld Library resources; latest developments; live and archived video of UN speeches; complete texts of UN speeches.

The National Security Archive
www.nsarchive.org
The National Security Archive is an independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The Archive collects and publishes declassified documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Many documents are available online. Of particular current interest are the September 11th Source Books - National Security Archive Online Readers on Terrorism, Intelligence and the Next War. These materials include CIA biographic sketches of Usama Bin Laden and Taliban leader Mohammad Omar, reports from the Pentagon and the Senate Intelligence Committee on previous terrorist attacks, the State Department's overview of global terrorism, and the FBI's review of terrorism in the U.S.

Iraq Watch
www.iraqwatch.org
"Iraq Watch is a comprehensive web site devoted to monitoring Iraq's progress in building weapons of mass destruction. Iraq Watch describes key Iraqi organizations and sites, lists their foreign suppliers, and provides access to U.N. and other documents that describe Iraq's activities."

Online news:
The online news sites below provide detailed background information. However, maintain the usual skepticism regarding late-breaking, sensational news stories as you would with any TV or print media. I have also provided links to foreign news sources so that you can obtain other, not necessarily balanced, points of view.

CNN Online
www.cnn.com
Latest news.

Washington Post
www.washingtonpost.com
Latest news and in-depth background articles.

New York Times
www.nytimes.com
Latest news and in-depth background articles.

The Frontier Post Online
www.frontierpost.com.pk
The Frontier Post is published (in English) in the Pakistani town of Peshawar near the Afghan border. The Frontier Post reports on the latest political developments in the region.

The Hotline
www.theatlantic.com/hotline
A daily digest of war coverage from news organizations around the world.

MEMRI - Middle East Media Research Institute
www.memri.org
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) explores the Middle East through the region's media. MEMRI bridges the language gap which exists between the West and the Middle East, providing timely translations of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish media, as well as original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends in the Middle East.

Carnegie Council for Ethics in Foreign Affairs
www.cceia.org
Carnegie Council's work is based on the premise that internationally recognized norms—such as human rights, self-determination, sovereignty, justice, and legitimacy—must be part of foreign policy. The Carnegie Institute aims to be the world's central address for ethical decision in international affairs.

KIOSKEN
www.esperanto.se/kiosk/engindex.html
KIOSKEN has links to news media all over the world, mainly to newspapers in the countries' own language(s).

In addition:

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