The killing of three senior militants in Iraq is a victory of sorts, but eliminating leaders does not eliminate terrorism Jason Burke guardian.co.uk Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki displays photos of the dead al-Qaida chiefs Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri at a press conference. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images The three recent killings of senior militants in Iraq is, of course, good news. The significance of the coercive or military component of any counterinsurgency or counterterrorism strategy is often underestimated. The enhanced rhythm of the special forces raids and the intelligence-gathering operations that General Stanley McChrystal enforced, when he led the … Continue reading Al-Qaida Iraq and counterinsurgency strategy

dawn.com Pedestrians pass an election bus showing Britain’s Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg (R) and finance spokesman Vince Cable outside the party headquarters in London. Polls show the centrist Lib Dems overtaking ruling Labour, in power for 13 years, in terms of popular support and only a few points behind the main opposition Conservatives. –Reuters Photo Last week, I had written off the Liberal Democrats as rank 250-1 outsiders in UK’s general election scheduled for 6 May. How wrong I was. But I was in good company: hundreds of pundits in Britain and around the world had predicted this was … Continue reading A week in politics can be a lifetime

By Rafia Zakaria The fixation on Bin Laden’s capture has in fact become the cornerstone of US counter-terrorism strategy. –Photo by AP Since the emergence of Osama bin Laden as the terrorist leader-in-chief of the 9/11 attacks, a significant chunk of the US military effort in the subsequent war on terror has been devoted to his capture. Over the past decade, every leader in the US, from presidents to army chiefs to heads of intelligence have vowed to capture him. The fixation on Bin Laden’s capture has in fact become the cornerstone of US counter-terrorism strategy. Whether it is Predator … Continue reading The Osama myth

Army officials along with journalists take a tour in South Waziristan. – APP (File Photo) dawn.com KHAR: I had not expected Pakistan’s tribal areas to be so neat and so prosperous. These are meant to be the badlands, mythologised as no-go areas by Kiplingesque images of xenophobic Pashtuns, jezail musket in hand, defying British troops from rugged clifftops. They are the “ungovernable” lands where al Qaeda took sanctuary after the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan; the bastion of Islamist militants said to threaten the entire world. Yet to fly by helicopter for the first time into Bajaur tribal agency is to … Continue reading Breaking the myths of Pakistan’s tribal areas

Sheikh Salman al-Oadah There are certain types of fear that are extreme and that can even be described as a sickness. We are not talking here about the fear of Allah, but about fear as a sensation and an emotion when it gets out of hand. We shall focus in this article on two types of neurotic fear: timidity and anxiety. Timidity Timidity results from a lack of self-confidence. It manifests itself as a feeling of confusion and nervous apprehension when having to face important or unfamiliar people. When a person suffers from this feeling, his mouth becomes dry, his … Continue reading A Sickness Called Fear

Sheikh Salman al-Oadah It never ceases to amaze me how many people complain about their children’s bad tempers and have not the faintest idea what to do when their children get angry. We are often surprised and hurt by the things we hear our children say in anger, their hands folded across their chests, words like: “I hate you!” and “I don’t want you!” and “I don’t love you anymore!” Children say such things when they are angry, and parents are often at a loss to respond with anything other than harsh words, curses, and a good smack. Most parents … Continue reading Coping with an Ill-Tempered Child

Sheikh Salman al-Oadah At the present time, the word “extremism” is probably the most incessantly repeated word on the tongues of journalists, writers, and politicians. It is likely that the events of September 11 are what put it in the forefront of popular terminology, for such terminology gives expression to inner feelings and makes up for a lot of talk and lengthy explanations. Extremism is a derived word, and it seems that those who use it mean by it a person who stands far off to one side of the center. This maze of terminology is a major cause of … Continue reading Extremism and Reverse Extremism

Despite its violent, dysfunctional image, recent reforms have restored key features of the country’s founding constitution Michael Meyer-Resende and Hannah Roberts guardian.co.uk Pakistan is widely portrayed as the perennial dysfunctional country, where weak elected governments are inevitably overthrown by a powerful army. The violence of recent years has strengthened the perception of a failing state, obscuring a more encouraging trend: the maturing of Pakistani democracy, demonstrated in parliament’s adoption of far-reaching constitutional reforms. While the continuing violence poses a threat to Pakistan’s development, there is also a risk that prophecies of a military takeover fulfil themselves, particularly in a context … Continue reading Pakistan’s maturing democracy

Afghan hash at an all-time high By Julien Mercille In addition to being the world’s leading producer of opium, Afghanistan has now become the largest producer of hashish, according to the first-ever cannabis survey released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) this month. Again, the US invasion is behind the new record. The 2009 Afghanistan Cannabis Survey revealed that there is large-scale cannabis cultivation in half (17 out of 34) of Afghanistan’s provinces, covering a total area of 10,000 to 24,000 hectares every year (lower than opium cultivation, which covers 125,000 hectares). Afghanistan’s crop yield is … Continue reading Afghan hashish at an all-time high

By Brian M Downing Last week, the United States withdrew a small contingent of troops from the in the eastern Afghan province of Kunar. The valley had been the scene of continuous skirmishes and the occasional sizable engagement, but no decisive battle took place. The withdrawal was announced a few months back and it is seen as a reallocation of troops away from inconclusive attrition and toward the more promising counter-insurgency operations going on in Helmand and about to be launched in Kandahar, both in the Taliban heartland of the south, both thought to be the key to the unfolding … Continue reading The Afghan solution lies in the valley