Scott Shane examines the Pashtunistan region, and its implications for American foreign policy in the near future, commenting that "Mr. Obama's surge depends a lot on the hearts and minds of the Pashtuns - and who seems a winner."

An investigation by The Nation has found that members of an elite division of Blackwater are running a clandestine program to carry out assassinations of suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives both inside and outside Pakistan, help run secret US military drone bombing campaigns and gather intelligence.

Roger Cohen raises questions about the U.S. government's expanding use of robotic warfare.

As the Obama administration assesses American troop numbers in Afghanistan, the senior U.S. Army general training Afghan security forces says the White House should also double the size of the Afghan army and police.

Leading Pakistani human rights activist Asma Jahangir discusses the deteriorating security conditions in her country and expresses concerns over the past and continuing military operations.

Lydia Khalil analyzes the degree to which homegrown terrorism can be considered a real threat.

Amid the latest spate of attacks in Pakistan, furor over a U.S. aid package shows continuing distrust between Washington and Islamabad. CFR's Daniel Markey and Lisa Curtis of the Heritage Foundation say Pakistan poses a difficult challenge.

Sheikh Ali Goma'a, Grand Mufti of Egypt, champions moderate Islam, condemns religious violence, and addresses the challenges facing the United States in bettering its relationship with Islam.

The administration's counterterrorism policy.

New York City has developed a sophisticated local and global counterterrorism program since the 9/11 attacks, writes CFR's Lydia Khalil. Now the NYPD must determine from where the next terrorism threat will likely emerge and how best to deploy its resources to address it.

CFR Fellow Micah Zenko says U.S. air strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas are ineffective as a counterinsurgency tool. He recommends that Washington create oversight mechanisms for its covert operations in the tribal areas and develop a comprehensive national strategy toward Pakistan.

CFR's Steven Simon says President Obama has asserted a new counterterrorism approach that balances aggressiveness on some fronts with a milder set of interrogation and detention policies.

Lydia Khalil reviews NBC's "The Wanted."

Legal expert Sanford V. Levinson says rising debate in Congress over past intelligence practices aimed at combating terrorism will likely lead to modifications in policy though not a major overhaul.

In the next military budget Congress must provide funding for a wholesale shift toward counterinsurgency to win two wars. At the same time, policymakers must be mindful of the need for another transformation to anticipate future wars.

Washington is focusing new military aid to Pakistan on strengthening counterinsurgency capabilities. But distrust between the two countries and Islamabad's continued focus on an Indian threat pose challenges, say experts.

Max Boot argues, "on the whole, President Obama is formulating sensible, centrist national-security policies."

Right now there is considerable debate in this city about the measures our administration took to defend the American people.

Today I want to set forth the strategic thinking behind our policies. I do so as one who was there every day of the Bush Administration - who supported the policies when they were made, and without hesitation would do so again in the same circumstances.

President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan speaks at the Brookings Institution on the Obama administration's Af-Pak strategy, Afghanistan's relationship with Pakistan, and his prospects in the August presidential elections.

Hassan Abbas argues that Pakistan's poor performance in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency within its borders is largely due to the government's failure to adequately invest in law enforcement reform.