This report looks at why extremist strategic communications in Pakistan have been so successful and what it would take for the government and its allies to reverse the gains of what is sometimes called "the al-Qaeda worldview." Like all good communications campaigns, extremist messaging is grounded in a reality. In this case, that reality is the views and emotions—and the narratives that articulate them—that were born out of the establishment and subsequent conduct of the state of Pakistan.
Instead of continuing their endless battling, the United States and Pakistan should acknowledge that their interests simply do not converge enough to make them strong partners. Giving up the fiction of an alliance would free up Washington to explore new ways of achieving its goals in South Asia. And it would allow Islamabad to finally pursue its regional ambitions -- which would either succeed once and for all or, more likely, teach Pakistani officials the limitations of their country's power.
Intervening in Pakistani elections is a losing proposition, CFR Senior Fellow Daniel Markey argues. If pro-American leaders win, they will be tainted by association; if their opponents win, the United States will have alienated potential partners.
Speaker: Hina Rabbani Khar Presider: David E. Sanger
Hina Rabbani Khar, the minister for foreign affairs for Pakistan discusses the implications of U.S. and NATO troop reduction and withdrawal from Afghanistan, U.S.-Pakistan relations, and details surrounding the U.S. operation that killed Osama Bin Laden.
Speaker: Hina Rabbani Khar Presider: David E. Sanger
Hina Rabbani Khar, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan's minister for foreign affairs, discusses U.S.-Pakistan relations, counterterrorism, and Afghanistan.
Speaker: Hina Rabbani Khar Presider: David E. Sanger
Hina Rabbani Khar, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan's minister for foreign affairs, discusses U.S.-Pakistan relations, counterterrorism, and Afghanistan.
Despite the fact that Malala Yousafzai, the fourteen-year-old Pakistani women's rights activist, survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban, similar attacks against women, like the one in India, are on the rise. Gayle Tzemach Lemmon says that these attacks are efforts to stamp out women's progress and the potential of women worldwide will not be realized if this type of violence is tolerated.
The United States and Pakistan spent most of 2011 and at least half of 2012 lurching from crisis to crisis, their relationship teetering at the edge of an abyss. In recent months, however, moves by Islamabad have raised hopes in Washington that Pakistan might be navigating a "strategic shift" that would restart normal, workmanlike cooperation and, more important, would allow America to escape from its war in Afghanistan.
Pir Zubair Shah says the attack on Malala, the Pakistani girl gunned down by the Taliban, proves the Taliban's resilience and shows the uphill task of fighting them without a firm plan in place.
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon says that just as Malala Yousafzai, the fourteen-year-old Pakistani girl who was gunned down by Taliban shooters, refused to silently abandon her right to education even at the risk of losing her life, courageous women and men fight daily against a worldview that considers girls' schools a call to action in their battle against modernity.
Protests in Pakistan led by politician Imran Khan show how U.S. drone strikes are being exploited in the run-up to the general election, says expert Joshua Foust.
Pakistani foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar discusses U.S.-Pakistan relations, focusing on the bilateral relationship beyond national security concerns.
Pakistani foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar discusses U.S.-Pakistan relations, focusing on the bilateral relationship beyond national security concerns.
Pakistani foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar discusses U.S.-Pakistan relations, focusing on the bilateral relationship beyond national security concerns.
The U.S. designation of the Haqqani network as a foreign terrorist organization may heighten tensions with Islamabad, but was the "right decision" because it provides clarity within the U.S. government and to Pakistani authorities, says CFR's Daniel Markey
The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.
Special operations play a critical role in how the United States confronts irregular threats, but to have long-term strategic impact, the author argues, numerous shortfalls must be addressed.
The author analyzes the potentially serious consequences, both at home and abroad, of a lightly overseen drone program and makes recommendations for improving its governance.
Two experts argue that despite myriad development strategies, only one can succeed in alleviating poverty in India: the overall growth of the country's economy. More
