In The News

Nothing Will Change Until Musharraf Closes Pakistan's Militant Madrassas

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...

Good Day for India, Bad for Nonproliferation

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...

The Other War Against Terror…at $8 a Day

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...

Welcome to the Nuclear Club

July 19, 2005
A July 18 meeting between President Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may signal a breakthrough in relations between the two countries, as the US officially recognized India as "a responsible state with advanced nuclear technology." The symbolic value of this statement was considerable: As The Economist explains, Bush is "offering to help India, which became a nuclear...

Indo-US Relations Headed for a Grand Transformation?

Ashley J. Tellis July 14, 2005
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Washington this week could mark a watershed in Indo-US relations. This is the highest level visit since late March, when the US announced its plan to "help India become a major world power in the twenty-first century." Defense specialist Ashley J. Tellis describes Washington's new South Asia policy as offering unprecedented...

Living Up to the Fables, Ancient and Modern

N. Ravi July 13, 2005
The Indian economy has swelled in the past few years, to the point that politicians regularly predict that China and India will soon become the world's largest economies. In this editorial, N. Ravi challenges these "modern fables," questioning the likelihood that India can catch up to China and the world's leading economies. Though the overall economy of India will doubtless...

Killing the Chickens Before They Kill Us

Gerald Traufetter July 13, 2005
When the Netherlands was besieged with infected birds two years ago, Harm Kiezebrink designed mobile bird-killing machines and slaughtered millions of birds. Now, he has moved his contraptions to Asia, where a deadly bird flu virus (H5N1) has rampaged through multiple countries over the last 18 months. Because the virus would spread quickly and widely among humans if were to genetically mutate...