Ambition on the part of Gen. Petraeus may have blinded him to truth that Taliban impostor was too good to be true.
Petraeus Played
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Europe & Central Asia
No Sykes-Picot, No Holocaust?
If the British and French had agreed to Arab demands after World War I, an Arab-Jewish state might have been created.
After the Deluge
After suffering through months of intense battles between Islamist militants and the army, the impoverished northwestern region of Pakistan must now endure the severe ramifications of a fierce wave of flooding in September that has so far claimed close to 2,000 lives, wiped out whole villages, and left innocent families clinging to the tops of their submerged homes hoping to be rescued.
U.S. Out of Afghanistan by 2014? Don’t Hold Your Breath
400 military bases and a mega-embassy are not the face of an impending withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Could Gandhi Have Halted Night Raids?
Just Foreign Policy’s Robert Naiman wonders whether Gandhi’s satyagraha can work in Afghanistan.
U.S. Wins the Merchant of Death Sweepstakes
What effect will Bout’s extradition to the United States by Thailand have on recent efforts by both Washington and Moscow to “reset” US-Russian relations”?
Make 1325 Real for Women’s Peace and Security
October 31 marked the tenth anniversary of the momentous UN resolution on women, peace and security—UNSCR 1325. This set a new international standard that requires all parties—the UN, states, and armed militias—to ensure that women participate fully in peace negotiations and post-conflict reconstruction. If this really worked, it would transform our militarized world.
Election Was Missed Opportunity to Convince Voters to Abandon Current Afghanistan Strategy
Americans forget that the $3 billion a week it spends on Afghanistan and Iraq makes the bank bailout and stimulus look like chump change.
START: Arms Affirmation Treaty
The New START treaty should at best be called an “arms affirmation treaty,” confirming that expensive weapons systems, which include the nation’s nuclear arsenal, remain a national priority. Like the earlier Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, New START insulates nuclear weapons spending, as well as large budgets for other weapons systems.
Canada on Ice: at the UN
Canada’s defeat in elections for a temporary seat in the UN Security Council has implications that reach beyond being an upset for Stephen Harper’s conservative government in Ottawa. It reinforces how far most UN members are from supporting other nations that unconditionally accept Israeli behavior in the Middle East. It also, ironically, lends some support to Ottawa’s longstanding opposition to increasing the number of permanent Security Council members.