Zainab Jeewanjee discusses the intricacies of implicating Pakistan in the Wikileaks report. She elaborates on the history, motivations and interests of Pakistan and finds that negotiating with extremist groups is perhaps an inevitable reality that policy makers must take into account before implicating that the government in Islamabad aids insurgents.
The War on Terror marks challenging times for Pakistan. With this weeks military incursion into northern areas to combat terrorism, increasing drone attacks, suicide bombings and a crippled economy, cooperation in our war on terror looks increasingly domestic for Pakistan.
Pakistans mlitary headquarters are attacked by militants in October 2009, at the heels of a sweeping offensive against terrorists in South Waziristan. This also comes as the Kerry-Lugar bill/Enhanced Partnership Act of Pakistan is hotly debated in Pakistan. There are concerns that the bill invades sovereignty, will fail as a result of corruption and undermines the military. Senator Kerry dispels those myths in a report published by his office last week and Zainab Jeewanjee elucidates the situation on both ends.
The Obama Administration after deliberation, surge in troops and General McChrystal’s advice, is differentiating between the Al Qaeda and Taliban threat. The focus in the strategy in Afghanistan will now be on eradicating Al Qaeda.
United States Senate passes the Kerry-Lugar bill tripling foreign aid to Pakistan for “sustainable development” purposes and counterterrorism/counterinsurgency assistance. This comes as both the United States and Pakistan struggle in defeating terrorism in the region. The bill specifies up to $1,5,000,000 through 2013 annually as President Obama revamps our strategy in dealing with the Af-Pak quagmire.