Michael Hastings’ article published in Rolling Stone magazine has claimed more than Gen. McChrystal’s career. Seemingly taking the U.S. leadership hostage, the article seems now to have extended its long tendrils and has squarely, elastically exploded onto U.S. foreign policy in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The New York Times published a stunning article this morning that […]
CNN reports on Pakistan’s female fighter pilots and the Air Force’s work in counterinsurgency and the War on Terror. It’s a very good article and reminds us that Pakistan is a moderate country paying their own costs in trying to uproot fundamentalism, militancy and terrorism from their country.
Pakistan has a deep interest in seeing stable, peaceful democratic processes in Afghan elections this week. Islamabad’s insistence on allocating resources to uprooting domestic factions and maintaing troops along the Indian border rather than focusing directly on fighting terror in Afghanistan do not mean they are uncommitted to stability in Afghanistan. Rather, Pakistan is better equipped and rightfully focused on fighting domestic turmoil and given current Indo-Pak relations, must keep forces on the Indian border. Also, Pakistan has a profound interest in seeing their large refugee population repatriate to Afghanistan, which can only happen if elections are successful and lead to a more stable, democratic Afghanistan.