The Long Immigrant Train

One out of every four refugees in the world is from Afghanistan. Many make their escape via the Tora Larah, the Black Way, a long and dangerous underground railroad that winds through Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, and Greece. Those that travel this path might escape their home country, but they often end up bringing its […]

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Simplifying Syria

What began in Syria as a revolt against an oppressive regime has evolved into a sectarian civil war and, more recently, into a proxy conflict. In the process, the struggle has become increasingly convoluted, with conflicting agendas among allies, together with deep-seated communal tensions, rendering the situation nearly intractable. Read Here – Project Syndicate

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Has Obama Blown His Credibility — And Syria?

The debate about what to do in Syria has been sidetracked by discussions of credibility and reputation. But both logic and evidence prove that reputations are mostly imaginary. Obama should not let fears that others might think him irresolute drive him to disaster. Instead, he should refocus on what U.S. interests really are in Syria, […]

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Why Jerusalem Doesn’t Want the Assad Regime to Fall

In October 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin telephoned Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to inform him that peace was at hand between Israel and Syria. Two weeks later, Rabin was dead, killed by a reactionary Jewish Israeli fanatic; the peace agreement that Rabin referenced died not long thereafter. But Israeli hopes for an eventual agreement […]

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After Vote, Pakistan’s Strongest Ally Should Be India

Whichever party takes power in Islamabad will almost certainly have to cobble together a coalition to rule. The new government will inherit a looming foreign-exchange crisis, hours-long blackouts that have provoked street riots, and overlapping insurgencies and sectarian wars that have claimed thousands of lives. Though army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has resisted the temptation to […]

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India’s (Bad) Moment

INDIA will soon have a fifth of the world’s working-age population. But many are worried that it is squandering its opportunity. During the boom of the 1990s and 2000s it became fashionable to talk of India’s demographic dividend – evoking the experiences of East Asia. There, working-age populations rose at the same time as the […]

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The Return Of The Lion?

If Pakistan‘s May 11 parliamentary elections unfold according to recent national opinion surveys, two-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif will once again take power in Islamabad. Deposed in a 1999 coup led by General Pervez Musharraf, Sharif fled for nearly a decade of Saudi-sponsored exile. Today, however, it is Musharraf who lives under house arrest just outside Islamabad […]

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Pakistan’s Tipping Point

Pakistan’s moment of political truth is fast approaching. On May 11, some 40-50 million voters will elect a new national assembly. The outcome, preceded by a spike in extremist violence, is likely to reverberate far and wide. Read Here – Project Syndicate

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Let US not toe the Iraq-line in Syria

The “caution” flag is up when it comes to President Barack Obama deciding the validity of claims that Syrian forces loyal to Bashar Al Assad have used chemical weapons. Perhaps it is good for all of that Obama was at the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Centre. I hope Obama visited the “Decision […]

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Looking At Afghanistan Differently

Afghanistan‘s future will not be determined by the thousands of lives tragically lost, the billions spent, or the number of international troops that will remain after 2014. The number of troops on the ground — whether foreign or Afghan — will not decide our future. We can only secure Afghanistan’s success if we first secure sustainable economic […]

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