Free Republic

The reclusive communist state's ambassador to China, Choe Jin-su, told a news conference the North's decision to reactivate its nuclear program was an act of self-defense and denounced Washington as the aggressor. "Only when both teams sit together can there be a dialogue, and without dialogue, no one can talk about a peaceful solution," he said, criticizing Washington for labeling North Korea as part of an "axis of evil" and accusing the United States of aiming missiles at it. "If the U.S. legally assures us of security by concluding a non-aggression treaty, the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula will...

South-East Asian summit to launch anti-terrorism pact By Alex Spillius in Phnom Penh (Filed: 04/11/2002) South-East Asian leaders vowed yesterday to step up anti-terrorism measures amid fears that the region's lucrative tourist trade is in danger of disaster after the Bali bombings. The moves, promised at a summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations in Cambodia, came as it emerged that the Indonesian radical Islamic leader, Abu Bakar Bashir, visited Australia 11 times before 1998 to spread the influence of his Jemaah Islamiah militant group. Australia's attorney-general, Daryl Williams, said intelligence raids in three cities last week on...

WASHINGTON D.C., September 29 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - As a closer step in its relations with the United states, Pakistan is this week to intensify its push for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, as its economic recovery seeks to gather pace and offset the cost of the September 11 attacks and the simmering crisis with India. Pakistani Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in an interview that he was "cautiously optimistic" that a long-term goal of sealing a trade pact was attainable. Aziz, in town for International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual...

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (AP) — The United States and a bloc of Southeast Asian nations signed a sweeping treaty Thursday aimed at making the region, which has become a second front in the war against terrorism, more responsive to future threats. The signing capped a week of diplomacy that overcame fears from Vietnam and Indonesia that the accord could lead to the basing of U.S. troops in Southeast Asia, where American forces have already helped the Philippines battle the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas. Under the agreement, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Washington will share information, boost police cooperation...

Southeast Asian nations will sign a declaration next week to share financial and immigration intelligence with the United States in support of the US-led war on terror, a Malaysian official said on Wednesday. "We feel that it is better if ASEAN countries sign it as a joint declaration to exchange information and combat international terrorism," Syed Hamid was quoted as saying by Malaysia’s official Bernama news agency. A Philippine official also said in Manila Wednesday that the US has offered technical and financial aid to ASEAN to help the group fight terrorism in the region.

U.S. Suspects Saudi Pact with Saddam Promise to bar American military, equipment worth $5.6 billion rotting FROM DEBKA INTELLIGENCE FILES Posted: April 19, 2002 1:00 a.m. Eastern via WorldNetDaily U. S. Secretary of State Colin Powell came away with no illusions on where Saudi Arabia stands in the U.S. battle against terror after his talks in Morocco last week with the kingdom's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Abdullah. Washington finally realizes that Saudi Arabia has no intention of choking off Saudi donations to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers or silencing support in its official media for the terrorist attacks....