Pakistanis oppose American drone strikes but want to see the Taleban crushed militarily, hate their president and would rather have his opponent in power, and think the biggest threat to their country is… the United States.
This, and other interesting stuff, in the new Al Jazeera/Gallup Pakistan Survey.
[h/t NightWatch.]
Archive for the ‘Pakistan’ Category
Gallup Poll: Pakistanis See U.S. As Biggest Threat
Posted in Pakistan on August 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
EU and Pakistan: My Two Cents
Posted in Afghanistan, Pakistan on June 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
For reasons beyond me, Atlantic-Community.org asked me to take part in their expert survey on EU policy towards Pakistan. I hardly qualify as an “international expert”, but in case you’re interested, here’s what I wrote them:
How does Pakistan’s instability impact EU security concerns?
I believe the extent of Pakistan’s political instability is somewhat exaggerated. The Pakistani [...]
Afghanistan: Misidentifying the Enemy
Posted in Afghanistan, Pakistan on June 9, 2009 | 3 Comments »
In Triage, the new CNAS report on Afghanistan and Pakistan authored by Andrew Exum, Nathaniel Fick, Ahmed Humayun and David Kilcullen, the word ‘Taliban’ is used 69 times. For example:
The Taliban is pursuing a strategy of exhaustion designed to bleed away public support in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe for continued Western engagement [...]
Tensions Defused in Pakistan, Rising in Iraq
Posted in Iraq, Pakistan on March 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Finally, something to applaud:
Pakistan’s government agreed on Monday to reinstate Iftikhar Chaudhry as chief justice to defuse a political crisis and end a street agitation that was threatening to turn into violent confrontation.
Iraq provides the cloud for the silver lining:
In Anbar Province, six former Camp Bucca detainees were on their way home on Friday when [...]
Pakistan: How Vulnerable is Punjab?
Posted in Pakistan on February 26, 2009 | 1 Comment »
In a column in The News, Ayaz Amir paints a terrifying picture of the spread of Talebanism to Punjab:
Which are the elements flocking to Mahsud’s banner in Waziristan and Fazlullah’s in Swat? Not the big Khans or Maliks but the have-nots. Beware Punjab’s huge under-class which will be fodder and recruiting ground for the Taliban [...]
Pakistan: How Global Recession Will Benefit Taleban
Posted in Pakistan on February 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
In an excellent LAT op-ed on the Swat truce, Ahmed Rashid walks us through the consequences:
[...] This is the first time the government has surrendered an enormous area of northern Pakistan to extremists, who will govern by a separate set of laws. Moreover, the Taliban is unlikely to stop in Swat. Even Mohammed, who is [...]
Breaking: Stupid Metaphors and Pundit Quibbling Threaten Af-Pak Stability
Posted in Afghanistan, Pakistan on February 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
A metaphor currently in vogue among national security pundits goes like this: The “Af-Pak” problem is like a balloon. If you squeeze it too hard from the “Af” side, it will burst on the “Pak” side, which is way worse than it bursting on the other side, because “Pak” has nukes, and a burst balloon [...]
Pakistan ‘Embracing the Insurgency’
Posted in Pakistan on February 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“One of the ways weak states try to slow the spread of a rapidly spreading open source insurgency is to embrace it,” writes John Robb, who sees an upside to the Swat truce:
Open warfare will slow, curtailing the bad effects of a unpopular guerrilla war on Pakistan’s military.
These groups can now be negotiated with, since it [...]
Pakistan: When All Else Fails, Arm the Tribes
Posted in Pakistan on February 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Judah Grunstein stumbles across a 30,000 rifle “Sons of FATA” program that sounds so misguided I will probably have nightmares about it. John McCreary sums it up:
This is the Pakistani counterpart of a similar program in Afghanistan. A danger is that these programs upset traditional power sharing arrangements for local problem solving. In most farming [...]
Pakistan: Monday Morning Links
Posted in Pakistan on February 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
So I finally caught the flu. And have a deadline. And am about to leave for an assignment in a week. So expect light posting. Some Monday reading:
“Reading Swat.” Mana “Chapati Mystery” Ahmed’s take on Swat.
“Secret U.S. Unit Trains Commandos in Pakistan.” NYT’s Eric Schmitt and Jane Perlez report on a secret American task force [...]
