It is nauseating to see people being slaughtered in Pakistan these days. Human life has no respect for barbaric animals responsible for these bombings and suicide attacks. And if the news of bombings and killing was not enough, I was horrified to learn that Lahore’s commissioner (incorrectly) blames India for these attacks while Punjab’s law […]
1) General Petraeus before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today: Achieving progress in Afghanistan will be hard and progress there likely will be slower in developing than was the progress in Iraq. Nonetheless, as with Iraq, in Afghanistan hard is not hopeless. Wonderful to put to rest any suspicions that the military might be trying […]
One thing that could be considered, but won’t, is scrapping the absurd Afghanistan-Pakistani border. It was demarcated in the late-19th century by Great Britain as part of “The Great Game”, because Britain wanted to establish a buffer zone in between Czarist Russia and India. Needless to say, those political calculations don’t hold any worth today. […]
Zainab Jeewanjee critiques “The Demons that Haunt Pakistan” a SABRINA TAVERNISE article in the New York Times (NYTIMES). Jeewanjee explains that current skepticism of U.S. involvement in the Af-Pak war is not a matter of irrational, conspiracy theories and a personal hatred for all things American, it comes after a prolonged and now daily struggle against extremist Islam, and terrorists who massacre Pakistani’s increasingly since 9/11.
1) Dawn, Pakistan: We must come together—now 2) Dawn, Pakistan: U.S. signaling 3) The Nation, Pakistan: No light in the Afghan tunnel 4) Guardian, U.K.: The U.S. cash behind extremist settlers 5) Hurriyet, Turkey: Pakistan and Turkey’s difficult decision
US authorities today filed charges against David Headley for his involvement in the planning and execution of the November 2008 terror attacks on Mumbai. According to a US Department of Justice press release, he “was charged in a 12-count criminal information with six counts of conspiracy to bomb public places in India, to murder and […]
Pervez Musharraf weighs in on the Af-Pak war & President Obama’s troop surge. Zainab Jeewanjee reports Musharrf’s recommendation for a “political surge” at the Foreign Policy association.
Today’s Washington Post is reporting that Obama’s promise didn’t even last 24 hours. According to the paper, Secretary Clinton, Secretary Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen all three danced around the issue of withdrawal from Afghanistan while testifying in front of Armed Services Committee a day after the speech. US Presidents have always struggled with the […]
President Obama delivers a speech on the Afghanistan Pakistan (Af-Pak) war promising 30,000 new troops to the region. Zainab Jeewanjee sheds light on the need for a new strategy either in tandem with, or other than just a troop surge, especially in the case of Pakistan.
So far, in 2009 alone, 9000 Pakistanis have died in Pakistan because of terrorism – that is bombings, suicide attacks and other acts of extreme violence against Pakistan, and Pakistani society by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Yes, 9000 (nine thousand) Pakistanis have died because of terrorism in 2009 alone. This terrorism according to Pakistan is […]
I’m going to reserve final judgment until I see text of President Obama’s remarks, or the speech itself, but here are a few things to watch for tonight: 1) How many times Obama uses the word “India” or “Indian”—focusing on Afghanistan and Pakistan is fine, but leaving the elephant in the room (the Indo-Pak relationship) […]
Thomas Friedman of the New York times writes about the Anti-American narrative that terrorist groups use to convince the Islamic world that American policies are aimed at oppressing Muslims. Zainab Jeewanjee critiques Friedman’s article, noting history and tangible consequences of our policies in the Middle East and Pakistan.
Maybe we should use some of those 34,000 troops to safeguard the border? Dealing with the insurgency is hard enough—but letting fighters escape from Afghanistan to Pakistan, or Pakistan to Afghanistan, and then back again, is an insanely stupid thing. You would think this would be the number one reason to put in more troops. […]
Focusing mostly on the one-year anniversary of the Mumbai attacks (Nov. 26-29): 1) Interview with Fareed Zakaria in the Hindustan Times. 2) This headline in the Wall Street Journal says it all, doesn’t it? 3) The last thing South Asia needs is a war of words between India and China. India defense minister A.K. Antony: […]