For a few heady hours following Hosni Mobarak’s exit from power after 30 years of dictatorial rule during which he (and his family) managed to “save” US $ 40 billion from the salaries paid to him as a public servant of an impoverished nation, the successful revolt in the streets sent hopes soaring about impending…
The recent upsurge in the streets of the Arab world has been force-multiplied by the planned (and unplanned) use of both internet and the media, Twitter, Facebook, Al-Jazeera, CNN, etc have all chipped in. Joining the dominos Tunisia and Egypt that have fallen, Yemen, Algeria and Bahrain are tottering, Libya is now in a state…
Hard Power has been used often in the context of national security by a number of States, if the aims have not been achieved it is primarily because of their inability to employ all elements of national power. The US national security system is grossly imbalanced and finds it easier to mobilize resources for Hard-Power…
“Soft Power” is the ability to make others do what you want, what they would otherwise not have done. Based on intangibles: i.e. less on what you own, and more on what you represent, others do what you want because of how they see you. What one wants can be done not just by States,…
1. General: Obama’s Wars under review tells the inside story of Obama making the critical decisions on Afghanistan War, the clandestine missions in Pakistan and the worldwide fight against terrorism. The books is a chronological compilation of quotes and paraphrases that Woodward has selected to demonstrate how the decision making process in this case actually…
“It is a twin-engined, twin-tailed aircraft….with four side windows, probably an eight-seater….it is flying at 3,000 ft AMSL. Request further instructions.” Flg Off Qais M Hussain, who had been scrambled from Mauripur Station to check a suspicious radar contact south-west of Bhuj, was reporting to the Ground Controlled Interception (GCI) controller at Badin’s FPS-20 radar.1…
Sahabzada Muhammad Yaqub Khan is part of that generation of the subcontinent that witnessed some of the most exciting events of the last seventy years. He was not only a witness but active participant in many events of these challenging times. Some events of his life seem to be the material for a novel rather…
A vast majority of people believe that Bhutto’s hanging was ‘judicial murder’, something that few would disagree with because of the controversial circumstances under which he was tried. The Supreme Court (SC) Bench that had heard the appeal gave a split verdict, yet Bhutto was executed. There are many who believe that Zardaris Presidential Reference…
No. I am not going to write about a song Brook Benton sang in the early 1960s and had the same title. I am writing about Pakistan’s relationship with the USA as far as Afghanistan goes. I do not believe that Pakistanis who dislike the US of A intensely want it to disappear from the…
The Islamophobes are making extensive use of electronic and print media especially the cyber space to unleash steams of propaganda based on half truths, creating more confusion by misrepresenting Islam also being done by the terrorists. These Islamophobes engage in “mental reservation” when they mention half- truths about Islam. Their methodology is to mix half-truths…
