In The News

Mirwais Harooni and Jessica Donati April 7, 2014
More than 7 million, 58 percent of 12 million eligible Afghan voters, defied Taliban threats and headed to the polls to begin a transition of power. “This could be the beginning of a potentially dangerous period for Afghanistan at a time when the war-ravaged country desperately needs a leader to stem rising violence as foreign troops prepare to leave,” report Mirwais Harooni and Jessica Donati...
Marc Grossman March 20, 2014
Despite threats from the Taliban, as evidenced today, March 20, in Jalalabad and impending withdrawal of international forces, Afghans head to the polls to elect a new president April 5. But there is reason for hope as “Afghanistan is not the same country it was in 2001, and Afghans seem ready to fight for what they have achieved at such great cost,” argues Marc Grossman, the former United...
Shams uz Zaman February 7, 2014
Pakistan and Taliban representatives have started peace talks. Pakistani media debate “whether a military operation or negotiations are the best solution to the Taliban insurgency,” reflecting deep divide between Pakistani secular liberals and religious conservatives, writes Shams uz Zaman for Asia Times. He suggests that Pakistan’s liberalism represents wealth and double standards rather than...
Max Fisher January 24, 2014
The gulf between Iran and the United States is wide. Iran’s Fars News Agency reports that US National Security Agency documents released by a former contract worker suggest that a shadow government of aliens ran Nazi Germany, intent on world domination, and now runs the United States, also intent on world domination. The report, labeled under the category of “space,” emerges as the United States...
Susanne Koelbl January 6, 2014
Investors and businesses, particularly major oil and gas companies, are descending on Iran, hoping to profit from 80 million people, many of whom are eager to engage in international commerce. Iran has the world’s fourth largest oil reserves and the second largest gas reserves, and the nation’s equipment requires updating and renovations. Western sanctions, imposed on Iran’s nuclear program,...
Tim Craig, Karen DeYoung November 28, 2013
Afghan elders approved of a long-term security accord that would allow the United States to maintain a relatively small military presence in the country for training and counterterrorism operations after 2014. But President Hamid Karzai keeps slipping in new demands. Susan Rice, US national security advisor, “told Karzai that if he failed to sign the bilateral security agreement by the end of...
Paula Newberg November 18, 2013
The US would like to ease its withdrawal from Afghanistan after 12 years of war. Shortly after Pakistan announced a plan to hold talks with the Pakistani Taliban, a US drone strike killed the group’s leader, Hakimullah Mehsud. With a violent record, the Pakistani Taliban has not shown interest in compromise or peace, and “the country’s labyrinthine military and political makeup and its often...