In world's hot spots, forward steps

In today's Christian Science Monitor is an article outlining all the positive things that are happening in direct response to US and coalition pressure being brought to bear on terrorists. (hat tip to Instapundit for the link) bq. From Pakistan to Sudan to North Korea, problems may be starting to yield to economic imperatives and global pressure. bq. Promising developments are suddenly marking the global landscape: between nuclear powers India and Pakistan; in Sudan, where rebels this week reached an agreement with southern rebels that could end Africa's longest civil war; in Libya, which recently announced it would give up its unconventional weapons programs to reenter the community of nations; in US-Iranian relations, with Iran agreeing to international inspection of nuclear sites; and even in North Korea, which this week offered to freeze its nuclear programs. bq. While foreign-policy experts generally remain cautious about linking these events too closely or about assigning them a common catalyst, they do see some common threads: bq. Economic imperatives. Libya and Sudan, both hobbled by US economic sanctions for promotion of international terrorism, are anxious to clear the way for foreign investment, particularly of US companies in their oil sectors. Iran, which bowed to European Union pressure for inspections, wished to avoid prospective international sanctions. And Pakistan is desperate for improved economic relations with both India and the US. bq. Religious terrorism. Many of the countries that are party to one of the "good news" developments have either sponsored or tolerated ambiguous relationships with Islamic extremists, but are now reassessing those ties bq. The focus that the US and the world community has put on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction since Sept. 11 has, at the least, forced countries with nuclear programs and unconventional weapons goals to weigh the costs of those pursuits. and much more - a good read...