July/August 2000

Europe is about to create a unified military force. Done wrong, it could strain transatlantic relations and weaken European defense.

The Asian financial crisis had a side benefit: prodding the Japanese government to fix its economy. But as the sense of urgency eased, so too did the momentum for change. The Liberal Democratic Party, never a true champion of reform, now blocks deregulation from every angle. Wasteful public spending has created little but debt. And the public's trust in its government is all but gone. Recovery would require Japan's politicians to give up the many benefits of the status quo, which they will not do without a fight. So Japan's reforms are stalled permanently. Its economy is, too.

Colombia is waging a war on two fronts: against guerrillas and against drugs. The former cannot be won on the battlefield alone. If the current peace talks fail, the country will plunge into all-out chaos. So the United States needs to take Colombia off the back burner and work with its government to help tamp down the violence, limit the drug lords' clout, lower the demand for drugs abroad, and prod the peace process along. Without these steps, even billions in U.S. aid will not be enough.

For decades, Saddam Hussein's fall has been called imminent. But Saddam has held on because of his ruthless personality, clumsy foes, and mastery of Iraq's military, ruling Baath Party, security apparatus, and powerful clans. His most likely successors are his sons, both apt to be as thuggish as their father. The West should nudge Iraq's battered elites to replace Saddam with a less megalomaniacal autocrat from inside his regime and outside his immediate family. But it should not hold its breath.