Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
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Many Arab governments are fueling the very extremism they purport to fight and looking for U.S. cover. Washington should play the long game.
For a range of reasons, Lashkar-e-Taiba is the most dangerous terrorist group operating in South Asia after al-Qaeda.
The Obama administration is supporting political reconciliation between the Taliban and coalition forces in Afghanistan in order to safeguard the upcoming security transition, but numerous challenges still loom.
A longer-term U.S. engagement and commitment to civilian and development aid in Pakistan might result in strengthening democracy in the country instead of reinforcing the military dominance that thwarts U.S. counterterrorism goals.
Continued military pressure will allow the United States to alter the realities on the ground in Afghanistan, convince the Taliban to consider reconciliation, and enable effective regional diplomacy to find a successful solution for the country.
Pakistan’s police force has historically been constrained by the military and intelligence agencies and often politicized as an instrument of repression. Reforming civilian security forces will diminish Islamabad’s dependence on the military and increase the legitimacy of the regime.
Recent arrests of high-profile Afghan Taliban leadership by Pakistan do not indicate a strategic change in Pakistan’s counterterrorism strategy.
The United States and India must agree on three vital security issues to ensure that their relations continue to deepen: terrorism, Kashmir, and the balance of power in Asia.
Islam alone will not aid Pakistan’s political development; instead, national stability will improve with better administrative, security, economic, and social services.
Stability in Afghanistan and the future of its government depend on the United States and its Afghan and other allies providing security for the Afghan people. Calls for an Iraq-style “troop surge” ignore the immediate need for a comprehensive political strategy to fix Afghanistan’s fragile security structure, dysfunctional system of government, and unstable borders.