In The News

Norway Attacks: Anders Behring Breivik Will Join History's Human Monsters

Henning Mankell July 27, 2011
Those with radical agendas do not trust the pace of political processes or their moderating force. Filled with absolute certainty, clinging to religious or ideological notions, they launch into angry action to implement their ideas. Worse, some like Anders Behring Breivik deliver their messages so out of touch with everyday society with surprising violence. Writing for the Guardian, novelist...

Anders Breivik's Roots in Right-Wing Populism

Frank Patalong July 25, 2011
A bombing-shooting attack in Norway has left more than 70 people dead, mostly teenagers, and prompts nations to reflect on rising right-wing extremism and resentment. Populist opposition to immigration, a fast-changing culture and globalization of the economy is a potent political force. The impact of this cocktail can be seen in a 1500-page online manifesto, largely quoting other right-wing...

Sorry, Pakistan: China Is No Sugar Daddy

Urmila Venugopalan July 22, 2011
China may be in no hurry to replace $800 million in suspended US aid to the Pakistani military. After the decision from the US president, Pakistani generals anticipated that China, an ally and the country’s largest defense supplier, would be willing to counter US influence and step in with funding. In exchange, Pakistani generals could help combat Islamic militant activity along China’s border...

Middle-Class Uprising Poses a Global Threat

John Paul Rathbone July 22, 2011
The world’s greatest source of instability might not be terrorism but a middle class angered by vanishing prosperity, the loss of a lifestyle with many comforts and protections, argues John Paul Rathbone for the Financial Times. He points to an observation of journalist Moisés Naím, that most recent conflicts are within rather than between civilizations. In developed and developing countries...

Why My Father Hated India

Aatish Taseer July 19, 2011
Resentment lingers since Pakistan’s 1947 birth and partition from India, with an ongoing rivalry that embroils the closest of personal relationships and endangers international security. “In the absence of a true national identity, Pakistan defined itself by its opposition to India,” explains novelist Aatish Taseer, son of a Pakistani father, recently killed by militants, and an Indian Sikh...

US Should Slap Sanctions on ISI Officials

Bruce Riedel July 12, 2011
Evidence is emerging that top officials of Pakistan’s ISI spy agency assisted fugitive Osama bin Laden. Because of such links, Pakistan could not serve as a base of operations for fighting extremism for the foreseeable future, predicts Bruce Riedel, former official with the US Central Intelligence Agency, now with the Brookings Institute. He argues that imposing tough sanctions against...

Pakistan’s Nuclear-Bomb Maker Says North Korea Paid Bribes for Know-How

R. Jeffrey Smith July 11, 2011
Pakistan was a source of nuclear secrets released to North Korea, Iran and Libya during the 1990s, but the Pakistani government long denied official knowledge of nuclear smuggling operations. A statement and documents released by Abdul Qadeer Khan, founder of Pakistan’s nuclear program, suggest that senior military officers were involved, reports R. Jeffrey Smith for the Washington Post. Pakistan...