Pakistan, where the army has ruled about half the time since independence from Britain in 1947, will continue with its third civilian government during the past ten years. In its general election of last week, the country has just given…
If Clint Eastwood were an adviser to President Xi Jinping of China, he might quote himself as Inspector “Dirty Harry” Callahan in Magnum Force: “A man’s got to know his limitations.” China is now learning the hard way that the…
The profane long has coexisted with the sacred. During earlier ages the secular authorities often sought to protect established faiths by punishing blasphemy. Even where organized religion is dying, the rule sometimes lives on. In October, Ireland will vote on…
Pakistan has been a foreign policy enigma for decades. A U.S. ally charged with harboring terrorists and nuclear proliferation, it works both sides of the fence — doing just enough to placate the U.S. and receive military and civilian aid,…
The agenda of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in New Delhi this week has been succinctly framed: addressing the ascent of China, seeking more Indian influence in Afghanistan, and stressing the need for Pakistan to clean out the terrorist camps…
The Trump Administration has recently announced that it will send 4,000 more U.S. soldiers to Afghanistan as part of an advisory and training operation, enhancing a counterterrorism model and joining an estimated 8,800 U.S. troops already in-country. Contemporaneously, the Administration…
Donald Trump kept us guessing about Afghanistan. Never during his campaign, nor in the first seven months of his presidency, did he give us an inkling of what he thought should be our policy goal in America’s longest-lasting war. With…
About a month ago, President Trump met with his national security team — Defense Secretary James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster — to review their proposed strategy for the war…
Three years ago this May, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) cleaned up in India’s general election, resulting in a majority not seen since the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984. More recently and consolidating his power, and as covered in…
How do you say, “Happy Valentine’s Day” in Urdu, the elegant national language of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan? The answer is: You don’t. On February 13, the High Court in Islamabad banned the celebration of Valentine’s Day. The court…
