South Asia

China-India Relations: An Unresolved Border and 60,000 Troops Deployed

By Damien Tomkins

When two countries have gone to war over an unresolved border and one of these announces the deployment of 50,000-60,000 troops and nuclear-capable combat planes along this border, the reader would likely expect the second country to sit up and take notice.  This is exactly what happened over the last month between India and China.

The Americanization of Afghanistan Continues

By James Joyner

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and senior American officials have sought for months to allay European fears about an “Americanization” of the mission in Afghanistan.  Today, however, it became all but a fait accompli.

McChrystal, COIN and Drones

By Bernard Finel

The firing of General McKiernan in Afghanistan and his replacement with General McChrystal has prompted some interested debate and discussion. Three of the arguments that emerged are of particular interest and deserve further comment.

NATO Should Help in Pakistan

By Leo Michel and Shuja Nawaz

Pakistan needs help.  President Asif Ali Zardari and army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, who were publicly urged last month by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to “recognize the real threats to their country,” have sent a considerable military force to staunch the spreading extremist threat in the Swat region near Afghanistan.

In Pakistan, Great Expectations … As Yet Unfulfilled

By Shuja Nawaz

Last week’s tripartite summit in Washington, D.C. during which President Barack Obama hosted President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan was a lot like a Chinese meal.

General John Craddock Event Transcript

FREDERICK KEMPE:  Greetings.  I’m Fred Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council, and it’s a pleasure for me to welcome you all to this installment, a very important installment, of our Commander Series, which is one of the most popular things we do here, bringing some of the leading U.S. and European commanders to […]

Pakistan: Too Big To Fail

By Jonathan Paris

Hardly a day goes by without reports highlighting Pakistan’s mounting instability or the growing strength of the Taliban inside its troubled borders. From the media and high-profile observers alike, doomsday scenarios abound. U.S. army general David Petraeus has called the Taliban an “existential threat” to the Pakistani state. His adviser on counterinsurgency in Iraq, David […]

Pakistan Drops Peace Agreement, Future Hopes of Negotiations in Peril?

By Ahmed Bhadelia

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai are in Washington today to meet with President Obama about working together to combat militants in both countries. Surely headlining the meeting will be the recent news that the Pakistan government has abandoned its peace deal with the Taliban over control of the Swat Valley […]

Obama AfPak Strategy Déjà Vu All Over Again

By Hugh De Santis

President Barack Obama’s Afghanistan strategy is looking eerily similar to the approach former President George W. Bush employed in his effort to remake Iraq.  Through a combination of increased military muscle, diplomatic pressure, reconstruction aid, and support from friends and allies, the Obama administration hopes to end the scourge of al-Qaeda and the Taliban and […]