The United States continues to pursue peace talks with Afghanistan's Taliban as a means to secure stability. Bruce Riedel discusses the challenges faced by the administration, including its ongoing tensions with Pakistan.

Bruce Riedel discusses what the selection of Saudi Prince Nayef will mean for regional politics in the Middle East and U.S. interests.

Bruce O. Riedel stresses the need to reshape U.S. policy toward Pakistan.

The country's president, Ali Abdallah Saleh, has returned, and already he's brutalizing demonstrators.  Bruce Riedel writes that the power grab is about to lead to full-scale civil war.

In light of potentially insurmountable challenges to Obama's Afghanistan plan, Michale O'Hanlon and Bruce Ridel express alarm over alternative propositions that emphasize targeted counterterrorism operations, and outline their own fallback option. (Washington Quarterly)

In The National Interest, Bruce Riedel comments on the al-Qaeda plot to terrorize "Obama's city" of Chicago on the eve of U.S. elections back in 2010, noting that the Saudi spy who defected to our allies underscores the importance of U.S. alliances in the Middle East.

Bruce Riedel, senior fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, wonders in this Brookings Up Front blog if it is time for the U.S. to confront Pakistan about its possible collusions with militant and terrorist organizations.

In the event of a successful terrorist attack by Pakistan-based militants, U.S. actions toward Pakistan are limited, but the United States can help Pakistan intensify its fight against extremism, says South Asia security expert Bruce Riedel.

The coordinator of President Barack Obama's original Afghan policy, Bruce Riedel, says political and security changes in Afghanistan and "sticker shock" in Washington have contributed to delays in carrying out a new U.S. military strategy.

"A country rarely fights the same war twice in one generation, especially from opposite sides." Yet Bruce Riedel writes that in many ways the idea describes the United States' current role in Afghanistan. Pakistan's role as a safe haven is remarkably consistent in both conflicts, but that similarity fails to account for the fundamental differences between the two wars. Riedel addresses the differences, and assesses how Pakistan's role is impacting the possibilities for success today.

Bruce Riedel, who chaired a special interagency committee to develop President Obama's policy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, says "the situation remains dire" in the region and it's crucial that the U.S. Congress expedite legislation on an economic aid package for Pakistan.

Bruce O. Riedel, an expert on South Asia, who has worked for the CIA, Pentagon, and National Security Council, says getting Pakistan to close down sanctuaries for Taliban militants poses the toughest test for the region's new special representative, Richard Holbrooke.

This New York Times online feature displays a multiplicity of opinions on what steps are necessary to reverse backsliding in Afghanistan. Kori Schake, Andrew Exum, Bruce Riedel, John Nagl, and Parag Khanna provide commentary.

Experts from the Council on Foreign Relations and the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution propose a new, nonpartisan Middle East strategy drawing on the lessons of past failures to address both the short- and long-term challenges to U.S. interests.

Bruce Riedel, a former high-ranking CIA and Pentagon official, says the United States faces a very frustrating situation in Pakistan, and that the recent U.S. cross-border attacks from Afghanistan into Pakistan is risky given the anti-Americanism in Pakistan.

The Brookings Institution's Bruce Riedel lays out a new U.S. policy agenda toward Pakistan for the next president. He says the United States has failed democratic forces in Pakistan, and must change course in order to better support the country on its "torturous path to democracy." He also says the United States must "greatly intensify efforts to ensure the security of Pakistan's weapons arsenal."

South Asia expert Bruce Riedel sees the continuing development of U.S.-India ties as a major accomplishment of President Bush, who has built on steps taken by his predecessor.

Bruce Riedel traveled to India in February to meet with business leaders, government officials, and members of the media. Riedel notes that much of the conversations revolved around Iran's pursuit of nuclear capabilities and the Iran-India relationship. Some in the United States have strongly criticized India for maintaining strong economic relations with Iran and for having exchanges of low-level military delegations. Riedel notes that although India opposes a nuclear Iran, its ties with Iran will lead it to oppose use of a military option against Iran.

Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official and key South Asia policymaker in the 1990s, says he believes Benazir Bhutto’s assassination “was almost certainly the work of al-Qaeda or al-Qaeda’s Pakistani allies.”

Lawrence Wright and Bruce Riedel discuss the continuing influence of al-Qaeda as both an ideology and an organization, and where and why the U.S. has not fully understood or not adequately combated the threat of global terrorism.