National Journal is hosting an informative online forum this week on the Obama Administration’s strategy in Afghanistan. Heritage’s James Carafano identified the main points of a good strategy: Have the Pakistanis deal with the terrorist threat in their tribal areas, while Coalition forces defeat them in Afghanistan. Work to lessen tensions between Pakistan and India, so that Pakistan focuses on the internal threat. Help the Pakistanis develop the capacity to conduct effective, full spectrum counter-insurgency campaign. Continue to rely on unilateral military action in the tribal areas to protect troops …
When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Japan this week, one of the main topics of conversation will be developments in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Japan has played an important role in contributing to efforts to stabilize and secure South Asia over the last seven years. Washington should welcome a more robust Japanese role in the region and strongly support Tokyo’s plan to hold an international donor’s meeting on Pakistan (possibly in March) to help raise funds for the cash-strapped economy. Japan has already played a helpful role in Afghanistan, despite …
… which country would it be? Just so we can all wrap our heads around how big President Obama’s Trillion-Dollar Debt Plan is, this graphic compares the pre-Senate debt plan costs with the GDPs of major nations: Just think of it: The deficit-spending package passed by House Democrats already is bigger than 168 of the 180 national economies measured by the World Bank. Now, in the Senate, it threatens to break into the Top 10 by catching up with Russia (No. 11) and then Brazil (No. 10).
Indian Prime Minister Singh upped the ante with Pakistan on Tuesday when he hinted that official elements within Pakistan “must have been involved” in the November 26 – 29 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Up until Tuesday, New Delhi had carefully avoided blaming Pakistan directly for the attacks even as it demanded Islamabad take action against the Pakistan-based terrorist group responsible for the atrocities, the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LET). Singh’s new accusations demonstrate in part New Delhi’s mounting frustration over Islamabad’s refusal to even admit the attackers were Pakistani, despite overwhelming evidence pointing …
Was the Real Target Indo-Pak Peace? – Peter Brookes The Indians claim al Qaeda doesn’t exist in their country, and the lack of suicide bombers lends credence to the idea it wasn’t Osama’s cronies. Yet his direction or inspiration for an attack can’t be ruled out – many of the suspect groups have al Qaeda ties[...] Unleash the Investment Risk Watchdogs – Stuart Butler They certainly failed to spot the subprime market fiasco and resulting meltdown. But it turns out that they have a history of failing to give investors …
Last Wednesday a small group of at least 10 gunmen fanned out across the Indian city of Mumbai. In coordinated assaults, they attacked areas frequented by foreigners, killing indiscriminately and taking hostages. The one gunmen captured so far has reportedly admitted to authorities that he received training from Lashkar-e-Taiba, a group recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States that has long fought an Islamic insurgency in Kashmir. While the rationale and responsibility for the attacks are still under investigation, the incident is not unprecedented and does raise questions …
A round-up of Op-Eds from the Heritage Foundation India: A Land on the March – Ed Feulner As The Heritage Foundation’s “Index of Economic Freedom” shows each year, more economic freedom (an open economy operating under the rule of law) generates more economic growth. That, in turn, means a higher income for the average person. This is exactly what’s happening in India[...] Another Reason to Drill – Ben Lieberman The restrictions on offshore energy are based on outdated environmental fears – advances in technology have dramatically reduced the risk of …
A round-up of Op-Eds from The Heritage Foundation Job Jitters – James Sherk America has faced much more serious problems in the past. If you have a job today that isn’t directly affected by housing markets or energy prices, you have little to fear from reports of rising unemployment.[...] Mr. Smith Didn’t Do This – Michael Franc Beginning in the 1990s, this narrative goes, free market, Republican extremists told government regulators to take a hike so the barons of high finance could indulge in an economic free-for-all, thus producing our …
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 19-2 in favor of the U.S.-India civil nuclear cooperation agreement. Doubly impressive the committee adopted the agreement without a controversial proposal that would give Congress more influence over future deals. Heritage analyst Lisa Curtis underscored the importance of final passage of the agreement earlier this month: The U.S. has the tools it requires to both remain faithful to its Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty obligations and to bring India into the nonproliferation mainstream. If this historic nuclear deal is finalized, it will contribute to strengthening global …
Heritage’s Lisa Curtis explains why Congress must move quickly to implement the US-India Civil Nuclear Deal. The deal would stregnthen US-India relations. India is a key Asian partner that shares our democratic values and political concerns. If this deal is not passed soon, it will have to wait until the next Congress and they would not take it up for several months. that would be about the time of Indias election making it even more difficult for it to pass. Lastly this deal would make India a stakeholder in Global …
