President George W. Bush has selected APARC director emeritus Henry S. Rowen as one of the two final members of the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, according to a Feb. 14 announcement by the White House.

In addition to being the director emeritus of the Asia-Pacific Research Center, Rowen is co-director of the Stanford Project on Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SPRIE), and a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for International Studies. He was appointed a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution in 1983. He is the Edward B. Rust Professor of Public Policy and Management, emeritus, at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He served as assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs from 1989 to 1991, chairman of the U.S. Intelligence Council from 1981 to 1983, and deputy assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs from 1961 to 1964.

Charles M. Vest, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is the other final commission member announced by the White House.

On January 14, 2004, APARC was privileged to welcome Admiral Thomas Fargo, Commander of U.S. Pacific Command, the largest unified command in the United States military. Introduced by Ambassador Michael Armacost and former Secretary of Defense William Perry, Admiral Fargo addressed a large audience on "The Future of America's Alliances in Northeast Asia." The admiral, whose remarks were off-the-record, spoke warmly about the importance, flexibility, and increasing strength of U.S. alliances in the Asia Pacific. He observed that these alliances, in their various forms, remain the cornerstone of the U.S. military posture in the Asia Pacific, and noted in particular America's longstanding relationship with Japan. The U.S.-ROK alliance, too, has matured considerably in recent years, and the impressive ROK military has made enormous contributions to regional and global security in recent years.

Conflict on the Korean peninsula, the admiral noted, can be considered the Asia Pacific's most pressing security challenge. In addressing that challenge, the U.S. Pacific Command seeks to ensure that ongoing diplomatic initiatives, including the six-party talks, are backed by viable military capabilities. Admiral Fargo stressed that U.S. forces are stationed in the Asia Pacific not to provoke, but to deter conflict. They are positioned where they have the greatest relevance, and may best support a given alliance at a given time, but likewise pose the fewest problems to the host countries.

The admiral also spoke of the complexity and promise of America's relationship with the People's Republic of China (PRC). A successful PRC is very much in the U.S. interest, he observed, and a constructive and progressive relationship that further promotes peaceful exchange will benefit both parties and allow the alliance to deepen and adapt to changing times. Admiral Fargo's address was followed by a lively question-and-answer session.

John W. Lewis, director of the CISAC Project on Peace and Cooperation in the Asian-Pacific Region, led a private delegation of American experts and officials to North Korea and the country's nuclear weapons facility in Yongbyon. The visit took place January 6-10, 2004, and was the first visit by outsiders to that country's nuclear facilities since North Korea expelled international inspectors a year ago.

Accompanying Lewis were the former director of Los Alamos National Laboratory Sigfried Hecker, former State Department official Jack Pritchard, and two staffers from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Frank Jannuzi and Keith Luse.

Lewis and the others briefed U.S. government officials upon their return. Hecker, a nuclear weapons expert, testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on January 21 and 22 about their visit to the Nuclear Scientific Research Center in Yongbyon.

The visit generated intensive interest from the media.