AFGHANISTAN
AP Photo
Spring 2008
"No Sign until the Burst of Fire: Understanding the Pakistan-Afghanistan Frontier"
Journal Article, International Security, issue 4, volume 32
By Thomas H. Johnson and M. Chris Mason
The portion of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area dominated by Pashtun tribes poses the greatest challenge to U.S. national security interests. Here, extremist groups such as the Taliban and al-Qaida continue to enjoy safe haven. The Pashtun, whose tribal structures have been subverted since the 1970s, represent a unique cultural challenge that the U.S. foreign policy establishment has failed to appreciate. To reverse the trend of radicalization in this area, the United States and the Afghan government must strengthen and rebuild the Pashtuns’ tribal structures while reducing the external pressures on them. Maintaining the current policy of extending the central government into this region will only foment insurgency among a proto-insurgent people.
AP Photo
Spring 2008
"The Rise of Afghanistan's Insurgency: State Failure and Jihad"
Journal Article, International Security, issue 4, volume 32
In 2001 U.S. and Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Less than a year later, insurgents began a sustained effort to bring down the government of Hamid Karzai. Fueling this insurgency was the collapse of governance following the ouster of the Taliban. To counter the insurgents, the government must extend governance into Afghanistan’s rural areas and establish effective law and order. Also needed is greater cooperation by the Pakistani government to capture or kill jihadists and undermine their ideological support.
February 2008
La République de Dieu
Book
By Charles G. Cogan, Associate, International Security Program
La République de Dieu is a collection of essays on the idea of God; on evangelism ("La République de Dieu"); on Islamic fundamentalism ("L'Islam médiéval"); and followed by empirical chapters analyzing a number of conflicts between the Muslim and non-Muslim world: Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Arab/Israeli.
AP Photo
January 2008
"A Profile of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan"
Journal Article, CTC Sentinel, issue 2, volume 1
By Hassan Abbas, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program/Project on India and the Subcontinent
"The organizational strength, military strategy and leadership quality of the Taliban in Pakistan's tribal territories has qualitatively improved during the last few years. At the time of the U.S.-led military campaign in Afghanistan in late 2001, allies and sympathizers of the Taliban in Pakistan were not identified as 'Taliban' themselves. That reality is now a distant memory. Today, Pakistan's indigenous Taliban are an effective fighting force and are engaging the Pakistani military on one side and NATO forces on the other."
December 28, 2007
"Blame the Unfinished Afghan War"
Op-Ed, PostGlobal, A Conversation on Global Issues with David Ignatius and Fareed Zakaria
By Kayhan Barzegar, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
"The assassination of Bhutto is the consequence of an unfinished job started in 2001 by the international community in Afghanistan; it is also a blow to the war against global terrorism and to democratization in the region."
dih123
December 11, 2007
"Pakistan: Corps is Ill-Equipped for 'War on Terror'"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Oxford Analytica
By Hassan Abbas, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program/Project on India and the Subcontinent
"A major overhaul of the Frontier Corps in terms of its mandate, service conditions, new training facilities and improved promotion prospects has the potential to rejuvenate the force. However, this is a long-term project, and there is little prospect that it can be transformed quickly to tackle the menace of Talibanisation."
December 5, 2007
"Documentary Depicts Life Of Islamic Leader"
Media Feature
The documentary discusses the history of the Ismaili Shia sect and the policies of the three previous Aga Khans. The current Aga Khan, Prince Karim al-Husayn, also appears in the film to reiterate the importance of tolerance during times of conflict. The Initiative on Religion in International Affairs co-sponsored the screening and the panel discussion which followed.
AP Photo
November 26, 2007
"Is the NWFP Slipping Out of Pakistan's Control?"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Terrorism Monitor, issue 22, volume V
By Hassan Abbas, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program/Project on India and the Subcontinent
"The NWFP is not likely to physically slip out of Pakistan’s hands.... Religious political forces have lost some of their support base (Daily Times, November 22) due to poor governance ..... Musharraf’s arbitrary imposition of emergency rule (read: martial law) has targeted those very forces which can challenge extremists. Many human rights activists and lawyers in the NWFP were arrested and top judges of the NWFP high court known for their progressive views and integrity have been sent home. Among the militants, however, this action of Musharraf is being interpreted as his weakness, further emboldening their activities...."
AP Photo
September 27, 2007
"Increasing Talibanization in Pakistan's Seven Tribal Agencies"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Terrorism Monitor, issue 18, volume V
By Hassan Abbas, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program/Project on India and the Subcontinent
"The government of President Pervez Musharraf is facing policy failure in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan. Taliban forces and their sympathizers are becoming entrenched in the region and are aggressively expanding their influence and operations (especially in Tank, Dera Ismail Khan and Swat Valley in the North-West Frontier Province). A lethal combination of Musharraf's political predicament and declining public support, a significant rise in suicide attacks targeting the army and the reluctance of soldiers deputed in the area to engage tribal gangs militarily further exacerbates this impasse...."
September 26, 2007
"How to Build US-Iran Relations"
Op-Ed, The Boston Globe
By Abbas Maleki, Senior Research Associate, International Security Program/Energy Technology Innovation Policy and Kaveh L. Afrasiabi
"...Iran has not suspended its uranium enrichment program, but it has not ignored the UN Security Council resolutions on Iran either, as can be discerned in the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency citing "significant progress" in Iran-IAEA cooperation. With the United States and Iran talking in Iraq and Iran-IAEA cooperation yielding concrete results in terms of Iran's nuclear transparency, the stage is potentially set for de-escalating the US-Iran tensions, particularly if both sides adopt a long-term view and sort out the security dimension."
