Pakistan's leader is losing grip on his presidency and the opposition parties are waiting in the wings. As his popularity plummets, his political fate -- as well as that of the Pakistan Peoples Party and the nation -- hang in the balance.
In prepared congressional testimony, Peter Bergen discusses homegrown terrorists and the risks they really pose.
It's not that the massacre occurred. It's that it hadn't occurred before.
The Obama administration's social media prowess has been a novelty among latter day political media machines. What was equally admirable was its apparent internal discipline over when information made the transition from government secret to press release. Controlling the flow of data and keeping secrets secret is a challenge under any circumstance.
Afghanistan's sky-high birthrate seems to be declining -- and that's a very good thing.
Take it from this former ambassador: Disagreements over the war in Afghanistan may do more long-term harm than short-term good.
You might think Afghanistan's fate lies in U.S. President Barack Obama's forthcoming strategic decision on troop levels. But the picture is bleak, no matter what.
More from The Afpak Channel:
I have a new post up on my New Yorker blog. In the comments on Thomas Ricks’s blog at Foreign Policy, I came across a well-informed dissent to my straw-man forecast about what failure in Afghanistan would bring. Here is the writer’s alternative take on my failure scenarios one and two: "On a 90s-style Afghan Civil War" and "On momentum for a Taliban revolution in Pakistan."
Last night I went to see David Kilcullen, the most quotable Australian since the Brothers Gibb, report on his most recent tour of Afghanistan. Kilcullen, who is now a consultant to NATO and the U.S. government, spent much of his time explaining how the war effort in Afghanistan is being crippled by the debilitating corruption of the Kabul government … [and] described a "cycle of corruption" that is destroying Afghanistan…
The Obama administration's decision to move the trials of the five Guantanamo detainees accused in the 9/11 conspiracy -- including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed -- from the discredited Guantanamo military commissions and into federal civilian courts to face justice is a victory for the rule of law. Eight years later, the United States is finally bringing justice to the victims of the 9/11 attacks in a forum that is legitimate and credible. But the Justice Department should go further and try all detainees at Guantanamo in federal civilian courts, not military commissions.
As President Obama contemplates a new strategy in Afghanistan, Washington is obsessed with whether the best analogy to the conflict lies in Vietnam or Iraq. Of course, Afghanistan has little in common with either in terms of history, geography, culture, or politics. There is, however, a more apt analogy, and it involves the very area in dispute.
The Obama administration has dramatically ratcheted up the American drone warfare program in Pakistan. Since President Obama took office, U.S. drone strikes have killed about a half-dozen militant leaders along with hundreds of other people, a quarter of whom were civilians. As a result of the unprecedented 42 strikes by drone aircraft into Pakistan authorized by the Obama administration, aimed at Taliban and al Qaeda networks based there, about a half-dozen leaders of militant organizations have been killed.
A primer on the epicenter of global terrorism.
By Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann
A guide to the most critical readings on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Afghanistan has been struggling to establish itself as a stable state. The war that began after the 9/11 terrorist attacks has dragged on, and the only thing certain is that there's still a long road ahead.
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