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Begin New Search Topic NATO Political Geography Pakistan Content Type Policy Brief

1. Farewell to the GWOT: What We Learned from the Global War on Terror

Author:
Brian Flemming
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI)
Abstract:
The so-called Global War on Terror (GWOT) is coming to an end after ten years. It has been one of the strangest “wars” in history, one that asked little or no sacrifice from those on whose behalf it was being fought. Nor were the objectives of the “war” ever clearly explained. The GWOT has, therefore, turned out to have been a financial and political disaster for the world’s greatest democracy. War, the great historic change agent, has once again wrought its “magic” on a world that is a considerably different place than it was when the GWOT began. NATO, the greatest military alliance in modern history, could eventually become a casualty of the GWOT. The political and diplomatic price for the GWOT in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan has yet to be fully paid. When it is, it will be far from the triumphal nation building aims that were trumpeted when the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan began. This “little war” against a third class enemy has not been worth the candle. The “GWOT warriors” spent too much money on the wrong strategies and continually failed to make the Clausewitzian connection between armed conflict and politics. The final political settlement in Afghanistan remains obscure. Fighting the GWOT was indeed an unfortunate way to begin a new century.
Topic:
NATO, Diplomacy, Conflict, and War on Terror
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Global Focus

2. Disaggregating the Pakistani Taliban: Does the good, the bad and the ugly Taliban distinction represent a failed policy?

Author:
Mona Kanwal Sheik
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
Until now debates on initiating dialogue with the Taliban have mainly focused on the Afghan Taliban, whereas many of the difficulties that U.S. and NATO forces are facing stem from the militant spillover from Pakistan. This brief outlines why it is important to broaden the debate through a disaggregation of the major factions of the Pakistani Taliban and discusses in what sense a “good, bad and ugly Taliban” distinction can be a viable policy option.
Topic:
NATO
Political Geography:
Pakistan, United States, Europe, and Taliban

3. A long hot summer

Author:
William Maley and Daoud Yaqub
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
On 21 March each year, the people of Afghanistan celebrate the Spring festival of Nawruz. Families gather to mark the onset of the new season, and to wish each other well for the coming year. Yet this year, Nawruz is overshadowed by a gathering sense of apprehension. All the available evidence suggests that the opponents of the Karzai government and of its Coalition supporters are positioning themselves for their fiercest attacks ever. As the snow melts and ground becomes passable again, hundreds of foreign fighters are poised to strike against both the instrumentalities and symbols of the state, and the large proportion of the Afghan population that remains committed to the transition inaugurated by the Bonn Agreement of December 2001. This is not, however, a threat just to the security of Afghanistan. In a very real sense, it reflects a recrudescence of the al-Qaeda network and its affiliates, and thus challenges those countries and peoples who have fallen victim to al-Qaeda's brand of globalised terrorism. Afghanistan is the front line in confronting these forces, and if the wider world allows the struggle for Afghanistan to be lost, it could pay a heavy price.
Topic:
NATO, Terrorism, and War
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Asia

4. Special Policy Report: Inside Afghanistan and Pakistan

Author:
Michael Rubin, Michael Eisenstadt, and David Isbey
Publication Date:
10-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
On September 21, Michael Rubin, a visiting fellow at The Washington Institute who traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan in 1997 and 2000; David Isbey, specialist correspondent for Jane's Intelligence Review and director of the Committee for a Free Afghanistan; and Michael Eisenstadt, senior fellow at The Washington Institute specializing in military affairs, addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. The following is a rapporteur's summary of their remarks.
Topic:
Security, NATO, Arms Control and Proliferation, Religion, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Middle East, and Arab Countries

5. Preparing for Nuclear Breakout in the Middle East (Part II)

Author:
Michael Eisenstadt
Publication Date:
08-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
A nuclear breakout by Iraq or Iran could have a number of direct and indirect effects on the region: First, a nuclear breakout by either will cause the United States to be much more careful in its dealings with that state, particularly when it comes to considering military action. America's military freedom-of-action will be greatly constrained. Second, an Iraqi breakout would almost certainly cause Iran to further accelerate its own nuclear efforts and might spur Tehran to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which it increasingly sees as a liability. Third, the emergence of a nuclear Iraq and/or Iran could cause the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to seek an independent deterrent capability — including chemical weapons. (The large petrochemical industries of the Gulf could provide many of the precursor chemicals needed for such an effort.) Saudi Arabia might even seek to buy nuclear weapons from Pakistan.
Topic:
Security, NATO, Arms Control and Proliferation, Religion, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Pakistan, United States, Iraq, America, Iran, Middle East, Arab Countries, and Saudi Arabia