Erdogan Rebuffs U.S. While Protesting `Propaganda' Turkey Is Iranian Ally

This is a spectacular overview of the "new" Turkey. Very informative and a glimpse into the new developing dynamic...

Gates' Red Carpet

Kyrgyzstan: Did Moscow Subvert a U.S. Central Asian Ally?

Um... yes?

When Madmen Have Bombs...

Pakistan's War of Choice

Although Pakistan is stepping up its efforts, this article alludes to the main reason they refuse to commit fully.

Pakistan seems unwilling to move much more of its army away from the Indian border, meaning a further delay before operations commence in North Waziristan — home to the Haqqani network, a radical group headed by the Taliban commander Maulavi Jalaluddin Haqqani, which is believed to be behind some of the largest attacks in recent years.

I did not meet any Pakistanis who actually seemed to wish to see the Afghan Taliban back in power. But the country simply does not have the military capacity to make major moves against the Afghan fundamentalists. And, less understandably, Pakistanis tend to see Indian conspiracies behind what is happening in Afghanistan, and fear being trapped between their longtime nemesis on one side and an Indian puppet on the other.

At the headquarters of the Pakistani spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, I was told that India was suspected of providing explosives to Tehrik-i-Taliban extremists through Afghanistan. Many Pakistanis claim that the Afghan government of Hamid Karzai is essentially a reincarnation of the old Northern Alliance from the Afghan civil war — a union largely made up of ethnic Tajiks and Uzbeks and partly financed by India. (This despite the fact that Afghanistan’s ministers of defense and interior are Pashtun, as is President Karzai.)Pakistanis wonder why India is building so many consulates in Afghanistan, and even Indian-subsidized health clinics are considered suspicious.

Islamabad Boys

China Suspends Military Exchanges With U.S.

India Befriends Afghanistan, Irking Pakistan

This is exactly what we, the U.S., need to happen in Afghanistan! India and Pakistan fighting over who is the better friend of Afghanistan! Perhaps now Pakistan will focus harder on their border with Afghanistan rather than fighting the Indians in Kashmir?! Perhaps India and Pakistan will become friends like Sean Thornton and Will Danaher did in The Quiet Man? Doubtful...

Anyhow here is an excerpt from the article:

The two countries have sparred repeatedly about each other's activities in Afghanistan. Indian officials say their Pakistani counterparts have claimed that there are more than the official four Indian consulates in Afghanistan, and that they support an extensive Indian spy network. For years, Pakistan refused to allow overland shipment of fortified wheat biscuits from India to feed two million Afghan schoolchildren. India instead had to ship the biscuits through Iran, driving up costs for the program.

The World Food Program, which administers the shipments, said the Pakistan government gave its approval for overland shipment in 2008 -- six years after the first delivery from India. "Why did it take six years ... is something that WFP cannot answer," a spokesman for the aid organization said. "However, we are indeed thankful to the government of Pakistan for allowing transit for the fortified biscuits."

Also, here are some old posts on the India-Pakistan-Afghanistan relationship that help explain my opinions regarding the region:

A Man, A Plan, Afghanistan - September 12, 2008

Afghanistan Is in Its Worst Shape since 2001 - September 16, 2008

Pakistan Picks New Chief for Intelligence Agency - September 30, 2008

Confronting Taliban, Pakistan Finds Itself at War - October 3, 2008

Pakistan's Military - May 15, 2009

Pakistan Objects to U.S. Plan for Afghan War - July 22, 2009

Miliband: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei must engage with West

Referring to President Obama’s long-awaited speech to the Muslim world next month, he said that it should repudiate the idea that there is an inherent clash between the West and the Islamic worlds.