A hyphenated word has hung like a shroud over Pakistan ever since its founding father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, vocalized what Great Britain produced in its hasty retreat from empire: a moth-eaten state. In 1947, a British barrister, new to the subcontinent, drew artificial lines on a map that carved up the Punjab, Bengal and Kashmir, …
RoK Missile Rationale Roulette
by | 2012-10-09 | 20 Comments
Just as expected, after a protracted negotiation, the U.S. and South Korea have agreed to relax the bilateral “guidelines” limiting the range and payload of South Korean missiles. It’s an election year in South Korea and — well, why mince words? The outcome makes the ruling party happy. And the more jingoistic quarters of ROK …
Visiting Pakistan
by | 2012-10-07 | 11 Comments
Twenty years of visiting Pakistan still doesn’t amount to much. My footprint is limited, especially lately, and I can only converse in English. Nonetheless, if you don’t learn something from repeated visits, you’re not paying attention. There’s no shortage of bad news about Pakistan. Lots of trend lines are worrisome. That said, allow me to …
Bibi’s Bomb: Guide for the Perplexed
by | 2012-09-29 | 76 Comments
UN Photo/J Carrier Note from Jeffrey: I’m still on blog sabbatical in baby-land. Here’s another anonymous guest post. Let’s be fair. It’s hard to simplify what’s not so simple. And it’s harder still to get your point across if few make the effort to understand. The Acme-brand bomb diagram brandished by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin …
