An unprecedented human drama is unfolding in Pakistan and yet few in the wider world are paying attention. Why?
A major landmark in the in the United States's military presence in
Iraq arrives on 30 June 2009, when the army is scheduled to withdraw
its combat-troops from the country's cities. The terms of the
"status-of-forces agreement" with the Iraqi government will see most of
these (currently 133,000) soldiers relocated
to a number of major bases in rural areas, though some will join the
30,000 troops that have left Iraq since the peak of the "surge" in
mid-2008.
The White House decision to send additional ground troops to Afghanistan (see Extra!, 4/09)
is only part of the escalation of the war in Central Asia. The
increased use of airstrikes and drone-fired missiles in both that
country and neighboring Pakistan are likely to increase civilian
deaths. Recent coverage, however, suggests that corporate media will
present such incidents as aberrations that distract from U.S. strategic
interests—or highlight the supposed public relations prowess of
official enemies like the Taliban.
Let's face it, even Bo is photogenic, charismatic. He's a camera hound. And as for Barack, Michelle, Sasha, and Malia -- keep in mind that we're now in a first name culture -- they all glow on screen.
In Pakistan's Swabi district, a bumpy road leads to Shah Mansoor, a small village surrounded by farmland. Just outside the village, uniform size tents are set up in hundreds of rows. The sun bores down on the Shah Mansoor camp which has become a temporary home to thousands of displaced Pakistanis from the Swat area. In the stifling heat, the camp's residents sit idly, day after day, uncertain about their future. They spoke with heated certainty, though, about their grievances.
As soon as we stepped out of the car, men and children approached us.
President Barack Obama's much-anticipated Cairo speech
reflected a significant shift away from the ideological framework of
militarism and unilateralism that shaped the Bush administration's
war-based policy toward the Arab and Muslim worlds.
Once you strip away the mujamalat - the courtesies exchanged between guest and host - the substance of President Obama's speech
in Cairo indicates there is likely to be little real change in US
policy. It is not necessary to divine Obama's intentions - he may be
utterly sincere and I believe he is. It is his analysis and
prescriptions that in most regards maintain flawed American policies
intact.
ISLAMABAD -- Shortly after arriving in Pakistan, one week ago, we met a weaver and his extended family, numbering 76 in all, who had been forcibly displaced from their homes in Fathepur, a small village in the Swat Valley.
ISLAMABAD - The U.S. is embarking on a $1 billion crash program to expand its diplomatic presence in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan, another sign that the Obama administration is making a costly, long-term commitment to war-torn South Asia, U.S. officials said Wednesday.
The White House has asked Congress for - and seems likely to receive - $736 million to build a new U.S. embassy in Islamabad, along with permanent housing for U.S. government civilians and new office space in the Pakistani capital.
A MASSIVE suicide car bomb, apparently triggered in retaliation for the Government's campaign against Islamist insurgents in the north-west of the country, has rocked Pakistan's cultural capital, Lahore.
It is feared more than 30 people were killed and 200 injured by the blast at the Lahore headquarters of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, Pakistan's premier spy agency.
The explosion near Mall Road, one of Lahore's busiest streets, destroyed a police building and left the area littered with debris and burnt-out cars.
