Welcome! This is an unapologetic, agenda-free zone. Just commentaries on current events that’ll move you to think, laugh, rage, and even cry.
As fate would have it, Trump just announced a “full and immediate ceasefire” between India and Pakistan. That’s welcome news — but no reassurance that the next crisis won’t be just as sudden… or just as explosive. This post remains essential reading because it explains how we got here, why the ceasefire won’t hold, and… Read more.
Pakistan imprisons Imran Khan Imran Khan is a demagogue. Like Viktor Orbán of Hungary, he thought he could rule Pakistan like an autocrat. And, just like Orbán, he seemed to think fraternizing with Russian President Vladimir Putin was the best way to win friends and influence Western leaders. That autocratic style of leadership has worked for Orbán, but… Read more.
Trust me, this death sentence is not nearly as grave or unforeseen as it seems. But first things first: A Pakistani special court sentenced former military dictator and president Pervez Musharraf to death in absentia, ending a six-year long high treason case against him and delivering a historic verdict against the country’s powerful army. …… Read more.
India and Pakistan have been fighting over Kashmir ever since the British partitioned India in 1947. In fact, not since the Peloponnesian Wars has one divided nation fought so many wars to so little effect. To be fair, each side insists it has only ever engaged in defensive cross-border skirmishes. And nothing lends more credence… Read more.
I have found on occasion that merely listing the titles of a few commentaries speaks volumes about a topic. As it happens, I have written many commentaries on the fractious, even murderous, politics of Pakistan. This seems a good occasion to merely list the titles of a few of them: “Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf: A… Read more.
The entire world watched in horror on Monday as police stormed a café in Australia to take out one Islamic terrorist – who was holding 17 people hostage. Miraculously, despite all of the terror that incident inflicted, only two innocent people were killed. Now, just a day later, comes this humbling reminder that, when it… Read more.
It would be an understatement to say that Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s former president and army chief, is experiencing a fall from grace worse than that of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s former president and army chief. Especially given that while Egyptian authorities are now scheming to set Mubarak free, Pakistani authorities are scheming to imprison Musharraf for… Read more.
Here is the friendly advice I gave Pervez Musharraf when it was clear his days as the benign dictator of Pakistan were numbered: It would behoove Musharraf to follow the trail so many of his predecessors have blazed into exile. And, frankly, given the numerous assassination attempts on his life, it would be understandable if… Read more.
As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama established most of his foreign-policy bona fides by criticizing the tactics President Bush was using to fight the war on terrorism. This is why, almost from day one of his presidency, Republicans have accused him of hypocrisy, while Democrats have accused him of betrayal, for not only adopting but… Read more.
It is being intoned like a mantra in Washington these days that Pakistan is an ally the U.S. can’t live with and can’t live without. And all indications are that the same is being intoned in Islamabad about the U.S. as an ally. In fact, this is a relationship that is now defined by mutual… Read more.
