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New Atlanticist

Mar 20, 2009

Counterinsurgency Consensus Misguided

By Steve Hynd

John McCain and Joe Lieberman have an op-ed in the Washington Post  telling President Obama to…do exactly what he’s already doing in Afghanistan. McCain and Lieberman, the former the designated point man for neocon pressure to keep the Afghan occupation long and strong, have found themselves arguing against previous Obama administration rhetoric designed to keep […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Mar 20, 2009

Escalation in Pakistan?

By Bernard Finel

David Sanger and Eric Schmitt’s report in the  New York Times that “President Obama and his national security advisers are considering expanding the American covert war in Pakistan far beyond the unruly tribal areas to strike at a different center of Taliban power in Baluchistan, where top Taliban leaders are orchestrating attacks into southern Afghanistan” […]

Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Mar 18, 2009

Pakistan: Peril or Promise?

By Harlan Ullman

You are president of Pakistan.  Your country faces seemingly intractable and simultaneous crises. You rightly believe that an existential threat to your nation is posed by the insurgencies led by religious zealots and extremists.

Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Mar 16, 2009

Pakistan Capitulates to Protestors, Reinstates Judge

By James Joyner

Pakistan’s government has agree to reinstate ousted Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhamad Chaudry in an effort to defuse violent protests in Lahore that have the country in turmoil.

Pakistan

Event Recap

Mar 13, 2009

NATO Head: Pakistan FATA Key to Afghan Security

Speaking before a full house at the 2009 Warsaw Transatlantic Forum, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer called for enhancing regional cooperation in Afghanistan in order to counter the Taliban insurgency. Noting the central role of Pakistan in the conflict, he urged for improving security and development in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Afghanistan NATO

New Atlanticist

Mar 13, 2009

Obama Repeating Bush Mistakes in South Asia?

By James Joyner

Juan Cole, a leading historian of the Islamic world and fervent critic of the Bush administration’s policies, tells Harper‘s Scott Collins that he’s not so pleased with the Obama administration’s policies, either.

South Asia United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Mar 13, 2009

Pakistan Protests Bring Fear of Military Coup

By James Joyner

Top diplomats from the United States and the United Kingdom are trying to broker a deal between the government of Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari and chief opposition leader Nawaz Sharif amid fears that a string of protests could result in yet another military takeover.

Pakistan United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Mar 10, 2009

Afghanistan: Time to Give Up?

By James Joyner

The New York Times headline “U.S. General Says Allies ‘Not Winning’ Afghan War” grabbed my attention. After all, the Atlantic Council issued a widely-cited report fourteen months ago which began, “Make no mistake, the international community is not winning in Afghanistan.”

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Mar 10, 2009

Pakistan Army Hits Back at Taliban

By Peter Cassata

Pakistan’s military has successfully driven Taliban militants from Bajaur Agency, a small chunk of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) sandwiched between Afghanistan and the Northwest Frontier Province.  The news is welcome, but Bajaur’s relatively small area and milder terrain make the victory much more difficult to replicate in other regions of the FATA.

Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Mar 8, 2009

Afghanistan Police: Still Corrupt After All These Years

By James Joyner

A front page piece in today’s Washington Post by Pam Constable entitled “U.S. Troops Face a Tangle Of Goals in Afghanistan” does a good job of encapsulating the problems NATO faces in that conflict.

Afghanistan NATO

Experts