Strategic Paradigms by Ehsan Ahrari

Assuming that General David Petraeus, the new Combat Commander of CENTO, was victorious over al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI), the question of the hour is whether he can replicate that success in Afghanistan.  However, before answering that question, it should be clearly understood that, despite a marked reduction in violence in the  Sunni-dominated region of Iraq, [...]

The Bush administration has thus far failed to resolve the nuclear conflict with two so-called “rogue states”—Iran and North Korea.  In the final three months of his tenure, George W. Bush is making last-ditch deals with Russia and China to put pressure on Tehran and Pyongyang, respectively.  The focus of those deals is to persuade [...]

The U.S.-Muslim Engagement Project has just released a report entitled, Changing Course: A New Direction for U.S. Relations with the Muslim World .”   An important conclusion of that study states: “The central message of our strategy is that the U.S. government, business, faith, education, and media leaders must work with Muslim counterparts to build a [...]

America’s presidential election debates are driven by a regular fear-mongering drumbeat on Iran.  Both Barack Obama and John McCain are involved in it.  Iran is frequently described as a source of regional turbulence and a sponsor of terrorism.  A similar type of drumbeat on Iraq led to America’s “war of choice.”  Those—especially the critics of [...]

Pakistan’s newly elected President Asif Ali Zardari’s speech to the parliament on September 20, 2008 is the continuation of an old balancing act.  However, there are certain differences and similarities between the actions taken by his predecessor, General Pervez Musharraf, in the post-9/11 era, and the one taken by the current government.  But the implications [...]

As extremist forces are intensifying their endeavors to make Pakistan an obscurantist Muslim country, the example of Indonesia is both inspiring and heartening.  The country is well on its way to democracy, something that is quite rare in the world of Islam.  To be sure, Indonesia has problems of its own.  Extemist forces have shown [...]

If the United States is the declining hegemon, then who will replace it?  Are we entering an era when another global hegemon will replace the U.S., or will we witness the emergence of power blocs?  There are two schools of thought in the West on this issue.  The first school of thought suggests that the [...]

America’s so-called war on terror is developing a new focus—the frequent violation of Pakistani sovereignty through the use of UAV attacks and rapid raids by U.S. Special Forces.  This focus will continue, no matter who is sitting in the White House come January.  And the contours of that policy are emerging here in the waning [...]

It is hard to decide whether the news of the victory of Asif Ali Zardari for the presidency of Pakistan should be celebrated as a victory for democracy, or be viewed as a cause for concern.  Better known as “Mr. Ten Percent” for allegedly receiving his cut from contractors doing business with the Pakistani government [...]

Imad Mughniyeh was assassinated on February 12, 2008.  He was the alleged mastermind of the massive attacks on the U.S. and French Marines in Lebanon in 1983.  His cohorts were allegedly involved in bombing Jewish targets in Argentina and for terrorist attacks in France in the early 1990s, resulting in more than 100 deaths.  Borzou [...]