Posts Tagged ‘U.S.’
Ambassador Husain Haqqani on “How Pakistan is Countering the Taliban”
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the Unites States Mr. Husain Haqqani has defended Pakistan’s Taliban strategy in the WSJ today.
Mr. Haqqani has excelled in the performance of his duties as Pakistan’s top diplomat in the U.S.; he has presented elaborate arguments rationalizing the recent policy decisions of Pakistani government vis-à-vis the Taliban. Even though I appreciate Mr. Haqqani’s diplomatic skills I strongly disagree with him. Certain claims made by Mr. Haqqani in his submission are faulty and biased:
According to Mr. Haqqani the panicked reactions of the type witnessed in the U.S. media over the last few weeks — after the Taliban drove into Buner, a town 60 miles north of the capital Islamabad — are not conducive to strengthening Pakistani democracy or to developing an effective counterterrorism policy for Pakistan. The panicked media reactions were not confined to the U.S. alone. The Pakistani media was equally rather more apprehensive of the Taliban’s entry into Buner. The scenes of a little boy selling newspapers on the streets of Lahore while shouting out the headlines as ‘Taliban have entered Islamabad’ reflected the anxiety and fear in the Pakistani media. Moreover, Mr. Haqanni needs to realize that counter-terrorism policy is based on empirical data and critical evaluations rather than merely media reports. Click to continue…
The Roxana Saberi Diplomacy
The case of Roxana Saberi has dominated international news during the past week. After being arrested for purchasing a bottle of wine in January this year, Roxana Saberi has been charged for spying by Iran and sentenced for eight years imprisonment. Saberi’s fate is being viewed as determining the future course of U.S. - Iranian relations. Critics of President Obama’s goodwill policy have raised Saberi’s issue as a vindication of the previous aggressive and non-conciliatory policy vis-à-vis Iran. While President Obama is gravely concerned about the safety of Saberi, he has continued to assert the value of diplomacy in resolving the issue and the Administration has not issued any threatening statements. 
The Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has personally intervened in the matter and asked the chief prosecutor to ensure that Saberi is provided with full rights to defend herself, including a fair trial. The Iranian Judiciary has been quick to respond to the President’s appeal by expressing willingness for a careful, quick and fair consideration of an appeal against the earlier court ruling. Saberi’s lawyer has twenty days to file an appeal. So the issue will dominate media headlines and official discussions in the days ahead.
Is the Saberi issue a diplomatic challenge or a diplomatic illusion? Is Saberi being used as a smokescreen by President Obama and President Ahmadinejad to initiate diplomatic measures opposed by neo-cons and hardliners in the U.S. and Iran? The unfolding of the diplomatic and political drama indicates that this contention could be possible. Click to continue…
FOXNews reasserts the threat from American Somali Youth
In a previous post published on March 12, 2009 I had discussed the mounting conerns over the recruitment of American youth of Somali origin in terrorist training programs. This morning The FOXNews.com reported on a rare press conference by two such individuals. These youth have expressed their desire to be killed “for the sake of God”. The apparent return of some of these American Somali youth after terrorist training to the U.S. makes them a potent threat for national security. According to the Deputy Director of the National Counter-Terrorism Center Andrew Liepman there is no credible reporting that these youth pose a direct threat to the U.S. To counter Liepman’s view there is enough empirical evidence to prove that planning of terrorist activities has and can evade intelligence scrunity. Apart from security concerns the entire episode raises some other vital questions:
Why have these youth choosen to speak openly about their involvement in terrorist activities? Did we not expect terrorist to be “hidden elements”? Does this represent a trend towards glorification of terrorism by an increasing majority? Is involvement in terrorist activities now considered ‘cool’?
Why did these youth abandon the quest for the much aspired ‘American Dream’ and adopt a challenging lifestyle in Somalia?
How will the U.S. assert its moral authority in criticizing Pakistan as a breeding ground of terrorism when American citizens can be lured into such extremist activities?
[Photo Courtesy: FOXNews.com, April 6, 2009]
Is The Afghanistan Crisis Helping Global Reconciliation?
Reformulation of the international approach to manage the Afghanistan crisis is currently dominating political dialogue in most Capitals and strategic headquarters. A host of international conferences scheduled for the next fortnight are expected to explore the best possible alternatives for dealing with the multifaceted challenges in Afghanistan. The Obama Administration has undertaken a comprehensive review of the U.S. strategy for Afghanistan. Suggestions and proposals on the issue are pouring from all quarters and it appears that Afghanistan is poised for a grand moment in history. Will the Afghanistan challenge emerge as the Noah’s Ark – a common platform for global cooperation sheltered from the vagaries of divergent ideologies, political ambitions and nationalistic aspirations? In an atmosphere where power politics of the Realist School is dominating international relations, can Afghanistan serve as a common cause for which ideological differences will be shed and new forms of global engagement will emerge? Click to continue…
Muslim Public opinion on Terrorism and U.S. policies
Terrorism is as much detested by the majority of the global Muslim population as is U.S. troop presence in Muslim countries. A recent study of public opinion in predominantly Muslim countries reveals that the population is widely opposed to the use of violence for religious purposes. However, they endorse the Al-Qaeda’s mission to expel U.S. forces and bases from territory of Muslim countries. Here are few interesting figures from the Survey:
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Across eight Muslim publics on average, 66% considered the presence of U.S. naval forces in the Persian Gulf as a bad idea. The opposition is largest in Egypt (91%) but also considerable in the NATO member state of Turkey (77%)
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From 87% (Egypt) to 62% (Indonesia) of the population believes that the U.S. seeks to weaken and divide the Islamic world.
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Widespread support for involvement of Islamic parties and groups in national politics: 83% in Pakistan, 81% in Indonesia, 53% in Turkey, 50% in Jordan.
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55% in Pakistan and 84% in Egypt disapproved of attacks on civilians in the U.S.
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Significant numbers approved of attacks on U.S. troops based in Muslim countries: 83% of the Egyptians approved of the attacks on U.S. in Iraq.
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According to 36% in Pakistan and 59% in Azerbaijan, the U.s. favors democracy only if the government is cooperative.
Highlighting the general views towards the U.S. the Survey concludes:
Views of the US government continue to be quite negative. The US is widely seen as hypocritically failing to abide by international law, not living up to the role it should play in world affairs, disrespectful of the Muslim people, and using its power in a coercive and unfair fashion.
It is interesting to note that some the most negative responses towards the U.S. have come from countries that are not traditionally considered threatening. This highlights the fact that despite cordial political relations, the Muslim population in many countries is opposed to the U.S. foreign policy strategies. Some of these figure and responses might help the Obama Administration in refurbishing the U.S. policy towards the Muslim world.
Afghanistan and The Global Conference Bazaar
The situation in Afghanistan seems to have become a subject of real global concern. In a matter of less than two months, over five international conferences/summits have been devoted to discussing the Afghanistan crisis. Are such parallel and overlapping conferences justified when the scoio-economic situation in Afghanistan is going from bad to worse?
The agenda of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Summit meeting for 2009 is Afghanistan. The NATO’s Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has been invited to attend the Summit scheduled for March 27. On March 31 an International Conference on Afghanistan is scheduled to be held in Hague. Over 70 countries and nine organizations including UN and NATO have been invited for the Conference and are expected to discuss vital issues of administration, security and future development in Afghanistan. The conference has been organized at the initiative of the U.S. but would be presided over by the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. Iran’s participation in the conference has already created much news and is viewed by many as an ice-breaker in U.S. –Iran relations. The NATO Summit in Germany and France during April 3-4 is expected to be dominated by discussion on Afghanistan. The NATO Defense Ministers have already met in February and deliberated on the challenges in Afghanistan. Not to forget the special segment on “The Future of Alliance and Mission in Afghanistan” at the Munich Security Conference in February.
Hopefully this marathon of conferences will provide some tangible answers to the real problems facing Afghanistan and not be confined to mere diplomatic exchanges.
The Godfather Doctrine
The Godfather is a classic American movie centered on the rise, confrontations and adaptations of the Corleone family. The Godfather Doctrine is a book by John C. Hulsman and A. Wess Mitchell to communicate, through the plot of the movie, the current state of U.S. foreign policy. Rather than attempting to explain the U.S. foreign policy through the complex theories of the disciple of International Relations, Hulsman and Mitchell use the analogy of The Godfather to connect to a wider audience. The reader may choose to agree or disagree with the authors, but this experiment at presenting a foreign policy parable is commendable.
U.S. Senate Committee Hearing on Recent Developments in Sri Lanka
U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a Hearing today on “Recent Development in Sri Lanka”. The three Statements during the Hearing were highly critical of the Sri Lankan Government and detailed the grave challenging confronting the civilian population in the country.