RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Vanda Felbab-Brown, December 18, 2008, The Brookings Institution
The Afghanistan-Pakistan border region has become the central front in the war on terror. Pakistan is suffering from social, political and economic turmoil, while Afghanistan’s security situation continues to deteriorate with a resurgent Taliban. Seven years after the 9/11 attacks, these two countries may present the greatest foreign policy challenge facing the next president. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Bruce Riedel, November 30, 2008, The Brookings Institution
The attacks on multiple targets in downtown Mumbai in late November is only the latest in a long series of horrific terrorist operations in India. Brookings senior fellow Bruce Riedel examines the complex phenomenon of terrorism in India and its connections to the global jihad. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Vanda Felbab-Brown, November 30, 2008, The Brookings Institution
Brookings fellow Vanda Felbab-Brown writes that the bloody terrorist attacks in Mumbai have serious repercussions for NATO efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and defeat the Taliban insurgency. Among other recommendations, Felbab-Brown believes the U.S. and NATO must discourage Afghanistan's political leaders from exploiting regional tensions. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Stephen P. Cohen, November 27, 2008, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
Stephen Cohen joined PBS's NewsHour to discuss the terrorist attacks on Mumbai. Cohen offered clues into who may be behind the attacks, what the reaction from the Indian government could be, and he noted possible effects for the broader region. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Michael E. O'Hanlon, November 14, 2008, The Wall Street Journal
The war in Afghanistan is not going well, but that does not mean the U.S. should give up. Michael O'Hanlon argues it is imperative that the U.S. help the Afghanistan government recruit, vet, train, and equip 300,000 to 400,000 new Afghan troops. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Bruce Riedel, November 2008, Current History
In the global struggle against terrorism, Pakistan poses paradoxes and enigmas. Bruce Riedel believes understanding these issues—and developing a strategy to deal with them—may constitute the single most important foreign policy challenge facing the United States. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Daniel L. Byman, November 05, 2008, Slate
Terrorism analysts repeatedly warned that al-Qaeda might strike in the days leading up to the election, but November 4th came and went without incident. Daniel Byman explains why the U.S. did not witness any acts of terrorism in the run-up to this years election. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Moeed Yusuf, October 2008, The Brookings Institution
Moeed Yusuf analyzes Pakistan's high potential for youth radicalization. He writes that the situation is marked by a poor education system stratified along socio-economic lines and disparate economic opportunities across segments of society, and he offers several policy suggestions for addressing the problem. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Bruce Riedel, October 27, 2008, Newsweek
Bruce Riedel joined Newsweek to discuss the continuing threat from Al Qaeda, their successes and failures, and options for fighting the organization now and in the future. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Daniel Benjamin, October 22, 2008, Slate
Daniel Benjamin analyzes the trend for jihadists to act in the run-up to or months following an election. Benjamin argues that organizations like al-Qaeda want to leave their fingerprints on big historical events, because they want to be seen as a central player in determining the outcome. Read More
PAST EVENT
Monday, October 20, 2008
12:30 PM to 2:00 PM
Washington, DC
The Saban Center for Middle East Policy held a policy luncheon with Bruce Riedel, Senior Fellow at the Saban Center, to discuss his new book, The Search for Al Qaeda. Wendy Chamberlin, President of the Middle East Institute, offered insights on Riedel’s book. Martin Indyk, Saban Center Director, chaired the discussion. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Stephen P. Cohen, October 13, 2008, livemint.com
In an interview in Delhi around the time the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal cleared its last hurdles in the U.S. Congress and was signed into law by President George Bush last week, Stephen Cohen dwells on the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, the China context around the deal, and how precarious he thinks the Pakistani democracy is. Read More
PAST EVENT
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
12:30 PM to 2:00 PM
Washington, DC
The Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World was pleased to host Ahmed Rashid, journalist and best-selling author of Descent Into Chaos. A correspondent for both the Far Eastern Economic Review and the Daily Telegraph and author of Taliban and Jihad, Rashid argued that Afghanistan presents a greater security risk to the international community than the Middle East. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Michael E. O'Hanlon and Andrew Shearer, October 03, 2008, The Washington Times
With renewed international focus on Afghanistan, Michael O'Hanlon and Andrew Shearer assess the continually worsening situation in the country. O'Hanlon and Shearer believe there is no "silver bullet" strategy for Afghanistan, but they contend that progress can best be accomplished by focusing on four main fronts for positive developments. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Stephen P. Cohen, September 2008, Pakistan Policy Working Group
The bilateral Pakistan Policy Working Group, of which Brookings Senior Fellow Stephen Cohen is a member, issued a new report on the U.S.-Pakistan relationship moving forward. The report recommends commissioning a new National Intelligence Estimate upon which to base U.S. policy. It also advocates greater economic aid, public diplomacy, market access and assistance with counterinsurgency, assuming Pakistan can deliver results against extremism in the tribal areas and adequately oversee its intelligence services. Read More