Showing posts with label regional. Show all posts
Showing posts with label regional. Show all posts

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Regional News and Issues

"Why Afghanistan Needs Pakistan". James Creighton, a former U.S. brigade commander (with two Afghan deployments) and currently the chief operating officer of the EastWest Institute, tells us why it is a good thing the Afghan president is reaching out to Pakistan. Read his June 22nd article in The Diplomat. Another "Afghan expert", Michael Kugelman - senior program associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson Center, sheds light in a 13-minute video on the 'false spring' between Pakistan and Afghanistan (The Diplomat, July 1, 2015). In addition, read "Ashraf Ghani's Pakistan Outreach: Fighting against the odds"United States Institute of Peace, June 29, 2015. A former U.S. envoy (Ryan Crocker) says that Pakistan needs to start cracking down on the Afghan Taliban (the "good Taliban) and to start a new cooperative relationship with Afghanistan. (Gandhara Blog, Jul 4, 2015).

Balochistan. Pakistan is not without its own insurgent problems - read about the Baloch insurgency south of Afghanistan's border (The Diplomat, Jun 24, 2015).

Christine Fair and Playing Make-Believe with Pakistani Military. Fair, a critic of the U.S. support of Pakistan, recounts her experiences with the Pakistani Army. (Defense One, Jul 2, 2015).

Charting Pakistan's Internal Security Policy. The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) has published a special report by Raza Rumi dated May 2015 worth reviewing.

Iran and the Taliban. There have been rumblings in the media that Iran has stepped up its ties with the Taliban. According to The Wall Street Journal the Shiite nation has quietly boosted ties with the Sunni militant group and is now recruiting and training its fighters. See a report by Margherita Stancati entitled "Iran Backs Taliban With Cash and Arms".

Role of China and India in Afghan Stability. The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) offers up research on the role to two major nations in Afghan regional stability. See a 24 June 2015 report. China is attempting to set up a mining operation in Logar province at the Mes Aynak mine but a 5,000-year-old Afghan historic site is there as well - holding up the progress (Newsweek, Jul 1, 2015). Karl Eikenberry (former cdr and ambassador in Afg) writes on the importance of China and the future of Afghanistan (Asia Foundation, Jul 8, 2015). Tini Tran also weighs in on the China factor (Asia Foundation, Jul 8, 2015).

TAPI Pipeline. The Silk Road Reporters newsletter provides an update on the TAPI pipeline that will transit central and south Asia.