US-Pakistan dialogue with a difference
By Ahmed Rashid | 30 March 2010 When Pakistan's powerful army chief, Gen Ashfaq Kayani, and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi got off the plane in Washington to conduct what...
A Road Map to Modernize and Develop Russia
Vladimir Ryzhkov 09 February 2010 As anticipated, the report recently issued by the liberal Institute of Contemporary Development titled “21st-Century Russia: Reflections on an Attractive Tomorrow” caused a big stir...
Georgia: Tbilisi Ponders Implications Of Ukrainian Presidential Vote
Molly Corso 08 February 2010 Officials in Georgia are downplaying speculation that the apparent victory of the pro-Russian candidate in Ukraine’s presidential run-off will have negative repercussions for Tbilisi. But...
“Armenia & Georgia: Corruption, The State, and Change”
Jesse Tatum Interview with Dr. Christoph H. Stefes CRIA: With regard to your comparative study of corruption in Georgia and Armenia, can you explain its different levels – i.e....
Karzai Says He Has Always Favored Peace Talks With Taliban
RFE/RL 30 January 2010 Afghan President Hamid Karzai tells RFE/RL that he has long advocated talking to moderate elements within the Taliban but that the international community is only...
Preventing New Gas Wars
Simon Pirani 28 January 2010 Although Ukraine’s troubles with Russian gas and Russia’s troubles with Ukrainian transit are not over yet, political relations between the two countries should improve after...
Russia’s Market Economy Under Putin Presidency
Duygu Uckun "In the last five years, everything has changed. In the last 200 years, nothing has changed." -Russian say- According to a New York Times article dated December...
Georgia: Armenian-Turkish Rapprochement Could Have Significant Economic Impact On Tbilisi
Nino Patsuria As prospects dim for a quick reopening of the Turkish-Armenian border, Georgian business executives remain quietly content. Trouble with the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process can mean continued economic benefits for Georgian...
Afghanistan and Pakistan face decisive year
Ahmed Rashid People in the South Asia region will be holding their breath in the new year. If both nations fail to achieve a modicum of political stability and success against...
A Deadline We Can Believe In?: Advantage: Taliban
Ahmed Rashid While President Obama deliberated three months before releasing his new Afghan surge strategy, his decision actually muddied the waters as far as American credibility in Afghanistan and Pakistan...
On The Afghan-Tajik Border, Villagers Are The Drug Lords’ Pawns
Zarif Nazar and Charles Recknagel In many parts of Afghanistan, living near the border brings advantages. Villagers can earn money from the cross-border trade as merchants or as carriers. Even...
Blair and Bush Must Take a Long Hard Look At Pakistan
Ahmed Rashid Here is the real dilemma faced by the Western alliance in its continuing war against terrorism. Pakistan's military dictator, General Pervaiz Musharraf, has been responsible for the...
Appeasing West and Militants Has Failed
Ahmed Rashid President Pervez Musharraf again finds himself in the eye of the storm. Al-Qa'eda is baying for his blood as a result of the carnage inside the Red...
The Scary Unraveling of Pakistan
Ahmed Rashid As Obama announces an aggressive counter terror campaign in Afghanistan, the region’s most dangerous nation—Pakistan—gets more grim by the day. Ahmed Rashid on President Zardari’s loss of control. In...
Al-Qaeda’s Followers Have Managed To Stay One Step Ahead Of Their Pursuers
Ahmed Rashid There was no warning of the bombings in London. The British intelligence service MI5 did not pick up any proverbial chatter, as usually talkative terrorists discuss the last...