Santa Downed By Predator Drone

Andy Borowitz, 12.25.2009

BorowitzReport.com

The CIA confirmed reports that an unmanned predator drone accidentally hit Santa Claus' sleigh on Christmas Eve, killing Santa Claus and injuring an undetermined number of reindeer.

Obama: Is He Nixon Reborn?

John Feffer, 12.22.2009

Co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus

Richard Nixon was the greatest peacemaker in U.S. history. He orchestrated the historic opening with Beijing. And he presided over the most significan...

Obama's Af-Pak War Should be Considered Illegal

Marjorie Cohn, 12.21.2009

Professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law

President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize nine days after he announced he would send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. His escalation of the war may not have been what the Nobel committee envisioned.

The Stories of the Two Somalis Freed From Guantanamo

Andy Worthington, 12.21.2009

Journalist and author of "The Guantanamo Files"

The release of two more men yet again demonstrates how hysterical and unsubstantiated are Republican claims that Guantánamo is full of hardcore terrorists.

Exclusive: The Aga Khan, Women and Development: The Path of Education

Rahim Kanani, 12.21.2009

Research Associate, Hauser Center for Nonprofits, Harvard University

As development agencies integrate their efforts to reduce the massive inequalities plaguing women and girls worldwide, we must never forget the value of human dignity, and the power of education to dignify.

Obama's Afghanistan Strategy

Moeed Yusuf, 12.21.2009

Political scientist with regional expertise in South Asia

An official confirmation by the US President that the end is near is precisely what the Taliban wanted. It will now reinvigorate its energies to undermine what it perceives to be America's last push.

Foreign Affairs Roundup

Christopher Herbert and Victoria Kataoka Rebuffet, 12.18.2009

Editors of Simple Intelligence

This Week's Top Stories in Foreign Affairs: End of START and A New Beginning for Disarmament SI Analysis: An agreement on a follow-up treaty to the 1...

Why Pakistanis Don't Like Us: 'Crazy' Times in Islamabad

Rob Asghar, 12.18.2009

Fellow, USC Center on Public Diplomacy

Pakistani President Asif Zardari is being pressured to leave office in the wake of a high court ruling in Islamabad. This poses a dilemma for Washington as the U.S. government seeks to help stabilize Pakistan.

Pakistani-Americans: A Chance for "These People" to Make a Difference

Rob Asghar, 12.18.2009

Fellow, USC Center on Public Diplomacy

As a Pakistani-American, and presumably one of "these people," I believe that my people have perhaps one last, best chance to define who we are, before Glenn Beck and jihadists do it for us.

Sexual Harassment in Pakistan

Nosheen Abbas, 12.16.2009

Dawn columnist

Sexual harassment at the workplace is, to date, not recognized as a punishable offense in Pakistan. In fact, in many situations, a complaint can create more problems for the woman being harassed.

"Model Prisoner" at Guantanamo, Tortured in the "Dark Prison," Loses Habeas Corpus Petition

Andy Worthington, 12.15.2009

Journalist and author of "The Guantanamo Files"

Al-Madhwani joins eight other prisoners in a legal netherworld, no longer regarded as "enemy combatants" by the administration, but still detained indefinitely as though they were.

India's Civil Wars

Mira Kamdar, 12.14.2009

Author, Essayist, Aspiring Jazz Violinist

The Maoists have flourished in areas where the government of India has virtually abandoned the rural poor. These populations are completely cut off from the economically vibrant, rapidly growing India.

Sunday Roundup

Arianna Huffington, 12.12.2009

This week, in accepting his Nobel Peace Prize, President Obama strenuously argued that "as a head of state sworn to protect and defend my nation" he "cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people." I couldn't agree more. But what exactly are the threats to the American people coming from Afghanistan? The Taliban? Or the 100 al-Qaeda members who didn't get the "we're moving to Pakistan" memo? In his 2002 denunciation of the war in Iraq, Obama said: "I don't oppose all wars...What I am opposed to is a dumb war." Well, escalating troop levels to 100,000 and spending $30 billion a year to take on 100 terrorists -- that's 1,000 U.S. soldiers and $300 million for every one al-Qaeda fighter -- while the real threats lie elsewhere strikes me as the gold standard of a dumb, immoral war of choice.

The New York Times - Getting Pakistan Wrong

Wajiha Ahmed, 12.14.2009

Wajiha Ahmed writes on Pakistani and Pakistani-American issues.

While some Pakistanis might subscribe to outrageous theories, it is disingenuous to paint such a simplistic picture. The NYT's report that Pakistan's media outlets "trumpet" conspiracy theories is incomplete.

Foreign Affairs Roundup

Christopher Herbert and Victoria Kataoka Rebuffet, 12.11.2009

Editors of Simple Intelligence

This Week's Top Stories in Foreign Affairs: Copenhagen SI Analysis: Representatives from 192 countries convene in Copenhagen for the UN climate confe...

Obama Can Help the World's Women

Rahim Kanani, 12.11.2009

Research Associate, Hauser Center for Nonprofits, Harvard University

In accepting the Nobel, Obama must spearhead a bold and unprecedented initiative aimed at one of the most pervasive human rights violations of the 21st century: violence against women and girls worldwide.

Obama's Lincolnesque Nobel Peace Prize

William Bradley, 12.11.2009

California-based Political Analyst NewWestNotes.com

Lincoln is Obama's professed ideal. We remember Lincoln today from civics lessons and the monument in Washington, but the historical reality is that he was both soaring idealist and ruthless pragmatist.

Reading the (Three Cups of) Tea Leaves on the Afghan Strategy

Cynthia P. Schneider, 12.10.2009

Cultural Diplomacy expert, former U.S. Ambassador to Netherlands

Greg Mortenson has done something that U.S. government leaders have not: he has humanized the conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Afghanistan and Pakistan: Anatomy of a Proxy War

Bob Churcher, 12.10.2009

Ret. British Army Officer

Powerful elements in Pakistan will continue to support the Pashtun insurgency in Afghanistan no matter what Islamabad's government says or does. This is the core problem for Obama.

Confusionstan: Afghan Policy? Depends Who You Ask When

Howard Gewirtz, 12.10.2009

TV Writer/Producer

We're committing 30,000 troops to fight in Afghanistan, which many leaders including some of President Obama's own top advisers think is the wrong battlefield.

Obama And Af/Pac Speech -- A Risky But Utterly Brilliant Solution

Frank A. Weil, 12.10.2009

Chairman of Abacus and Associates, Inc.

Obama's plan has A LOT of risks. But there may have been greater risk in any other plan.