Roger Noriega, Dr. Henry Sokolski, Gordon Chang, Richard Fisher

Former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs ROGER NORIEGA analyzes the presidential election that took place in Venezuela yesterday, expressing doubts that Chavez’s hand-picked successor, who won by a “razor thin” margin, had legitimately claimed victory. Dr. HENRY SOKOLSKI, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, critiques the U.S. government’s response to the North Korean threat, and argues that an effective measure against the corrupt regime would be to go after its ability to get hard currency through illegal means, such as by trafficking drugs, people, and exotic animals. What tools of foreign policy does the U.S. have in the financial category to deal with North Korea?  GORDON CHANG of Forbes.com lays out the strategic landscape in Asia and clarifies where the Chinese really stand in relationship to North Korea. Can Chinese military power be measured accurately? With strategic deception as a pillar of Chinese military doctrine, beliefs of Western policy makers are subject to great confusion.  RICHARD FISHER of the International Assessment and Strategy Center brings expertise to bare on the matter.