In The News

Ahmed Rashid July 26, 2005
Patrick Cockburn July 25, 2005
The Iraq war, predicted to be an easy victory, has instead become further confirmation of the Duke of Wellington’s sage warning nearly two centuries ago against getting involved in guerilla war, “Great nations do not have small wars.” As the fighting drags on with no end in sight, reporter Patrick Cockburn argues that it has become a “demonstration of weakness” and stoked the flames of terrorism...
Olivier Roy July 22, 2005
In response to the recent bombings in London and Madrid, many have speculated that Al-Qaida is punishing the supporters of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. This theory seems reasonable, based on the assumption that the roots of Islamic terrorism lie in Middle Eastern conflicts. Scholar Olivier Roy, however, argues that Al-Qaida's references to Iraq are merely a bid for legitimacy among...
Ahmed Rashid July 22, 2005
After the terrorist attacks on London two weeks ago, British Prime Minister Tony Blair vowed to fight Muslim extremism directly. But as Ahmed Rashid writes, until Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf shuts down his country's extremist madrassas – schools of Islam – all promises of resolve like Blair's will prove fruitless. Particularly because the militant education is not limited to South...
Strobe Talbott July 21, 2005
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Washington last week was hailed as a major step forward in US-India relations. India was finally "decoupled" from Pakistan in American foreign policy, and recognized as a nascent "superpower" in its own right. However, as Brookings Institution president and former US special envoy to South Asia Strobe Talbott cautions, the...
Matthew Thompson July 20, 2005
An unpublicized front in the "war on terror," the island nation of the Philippines is a frequent target for jihadist attacks, and a training site for extremist groups. Tragic bombings, such as those in London, have been mirrored in the Philippines. The country must often take a backseat to news from other areas of the globe, when, in reality, it is Southeast Asia's frontline in the...
Ann Scott Tyson July 20, 2005
Yesterday, the Pentagon released a report on Chinese military capabilities that may be ominous for other Asian powers as well as for the United States. While the findings revealed that Beijing does not yet have the military strength to exercise true dominance in Asia, its development of long range missiles – which could reach both India and the US – points to a longer-term strategy. Experts...