South Asia

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Afghanistan government has been miffed and apprehensive for some time that the Trump administration has been talking to the Taliban in Qatar without any representation from Kabul. Government officials were therefore happy about Trump’s abrupt cancellation of what he depicted as a summit with the Taliban at Camp David […]

Afghanistan

Will Trump Bring Peace to Afghanistan? Don’t Hold your Breath

Reese Erlich

( 48hills.org) – Washington, DC is buzzing with talk of troop withdrawals and the impact on peace talks in Afghanistan. The US may start withdrawing troops within months, the start of what would be a gradual withdrawal of all 14,000 US troops from the country. President Donald Trump wants to leave the impression that he […]

India

Kashmir: How Modi’s Virulent Hindu Nationalism Brought India & Pakistan to the Brink, Again

The Conversation

By Abdullah Yusuf | – August is immensely important in the history of the Asian subcontinent, marking the month that India and Pakistan gained independence from the British in 1947. Now, in 2019, it has once again proved momentous, when, ten days before India’s Independence day celebrations, prime minister Narendra Modi’s government revoked the autonomy […]

Afghanistan

That time Trump Spoke of Nuking Afghanistan, Killing 10 Million

contributors

By Janelle Carlson (Informed Comment) – Lost in the constant stream of shock and awe that characterizes Donald Trump’s Presidency, he states that he could end America’s 19 year war in Afghanistan in ten days. The catch, as it were, is that he would have to kill 10 million Afghans to do so. That killing […]

India

This Time, the World Is Watching in Kashmir

Foreign Policy in Focus

By Shubh Mathur | – (FPIF) The hasty stroke goes oft astray.” This piece of remembered wisdom from The Lord of the Rings seems to be an apt description of the Indian military siege of Kashmir. On August 5th, at midnight local time, the disputed territory was abruptly cut off from all communication, both with […]

India

What’s behind the protests in Kashmir?

The Conversation

By Sumit Ganguly | – India recently enacted a law which will end a special autonomous status given to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, known in the West as simply “Kashmir.” Amit Shah, India’s minister for home affairs, announced in Parliament that the Bharatiya Janata Party government was revoking Article 370 of the Indian […]

Afghanistan

Trump may Want out of Afghanistan, but He’s setting Stage for Global Conflict

John Feffer

Afghanistan has long been touted as the “graveyard of empires.” The British and the Soviets certainly discovered that lesson to their great regret. Perhaps future historians will judge the failure of the United States to defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan over a two-decade period as a critical factor in the loss of American hegemony as […]

India

India’s colossal blunder in Kashmir

The Conversation

By Ayesha Ray | – In a stunningly dangerous, undemocratic and secretive move, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government repealed Articles 370 and 35a of the Indian Constitution using a presidential order. The government failed to involve all stakeholders in the restive state of Jammu and Kashmir before making its move. What’s known […]