The problem of Taliban insurgency is as much a political problem as it is a side affect of educational backwardness and the stranglehold of the religious orthodoxy
16 December, 2011 09:45:00
Much water has flown into the Kabul River in the past decade. The Taliban, far from being vanquished’, is very much in the reckoning. The US is battered by the dollar meltdown and is working over time to quickly pull out of the country. And it is doing the unthinkable, at least after the 9/11. It is trying to reach out to the Taliban for a political solution to the Afghan imbroglio and to mainstream the Taliban in the process. ...
08 December, 2011 11:00:00
This is not the first time when the ground view from Kabul differed with the strategists close to President Obama. Both Gen. Stanley McChrystal and Gen. David Petraeus, who preceded Gen Allen, differed with the plans of their supreme commander in Washington. .....Obama’s race for a second term in the White House will be fought as much on his domestic achievements as overseas ‘actions’- a category that will see the Afghan war become a political football in the November 2012 election....
05 December, 2011 11:30:00
By the time the 2012 US presidential election scene warms up Iran and Afghanistan may become hotly debated foreign policy issues to the apparent relief of the Democrats, who would love the focus to shift from domestic economy. The sanctions are beginning to bite Iran, which is the world’s third largest crude exporter. Yet, sections of American political class and media find the sanctions “not going far enough.” ...
01 December, 2011 11:35:00
With Iran itself on the look out for new allies and new trade routes because of its stand off with the US, mutuality of interest could propel Kabul and Tehran to come together trade-wise. In fact, Afghanistan can start by rerouting more trade through Iran as the first step to reduce dependence on Pakistan. Already, Pakistan has begun to see Iran's Chah-bahar as a threat to its China-built Gwadar port....
09 October, 2011 02:45:00
Afghanistan's Strategic Partnership Agreement with India is the first one to be signed; similar agreements with the US and the EU are under negotiation. The agreement aims to boost trade, security and cultural links.. It is a reaffirmation of India’s commitment to the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan according to the wishes of the Afghan people; it was a commitment that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had reiterated in his address to the Afghan Parliament in May this year....
03 September, 2011 10:05:00
Pakistan leadership sees Moscow’s initiative for the four-nation joint collaboration in energy sector with unconcealed skepticism. But it is playing the Moscow tune with an eye on Central Asian markets. Improved road connectivity is what it needs and it is willing to provide for this lucrative access. Its bait to entice Dushanbe, Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) is the Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea, which sits at the doorstep of Gulf shipping lanes, less than 200 kms from the mouth of the Straits of Hormuz. ...
21 August, 2011 08:10:00
The shooting down of Chinook helicopter in mid-August to take revenge against the SEAL commandos who had taken part in the Operation Geronimo a day after the May Day highlights the continued threat posed by Afghanistan Taliban. It also is a telling commentary on the fact that a decade after the US-led NATO forces entered Afghanistan to dismantle the Taliban- Al Qaeda structure, the danger to global peace remains undiminished....
05 May, 2011 06:15:00
The removal of Osama bin Laden has removed a symbolic stumbling block which might encourage negotiations with the Taliban remnants. Since the Taliban are no longer a monolith and are split into multiple factions, dialogue with these Islamists is bound to be tortuous. Also the prospects of a quick breakthrough and the return of the Taliban to Kabul seem remote....
16 April, 2011 08:05:00
Compatibility of security interests, and common objectives of stability as well as sources of threats and challenges to peace have propelled India and Kazakhstan to build a relationship based on shared commitment to open and progressive societies, secularism and democracy....
