New Pakistan President Faces Daunting Challenges | Newsweek International

INTERNATIONAL
‘No Predators Please’
Ron Moreau 11/7/2008 12:00:00 AM
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Mahmud Ali Durrani has been a key player in Pakistan's national-security policy for the past few years. As ambassador to Washington from 2006 until April, he was at the center of his country's strategic, and often difficult, relations with the United States. Now as National Security Adviser, he not only counsels President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, he also delivers tough messages to Washington, protesting military strikes inside Pakistani territory, and serves as a liaison between the country's two top political leaders and powerful Army Chief of Staff, Ashfaq Kayani. In an exclusive interview with Newsweek's Ron Moreau in his corner office in the prime minister's secretariat in Islamabad, Durrani, 67, discussed how American attacks are undercutting the country's struggle against militants, Pakistan's commitment to battling extremists in its own way, and how the historically testy relations between the country's political leaders and the military are, at least for now, proceeding smoothly. Excerpts:
PAKISTAN
The War On Words
Fasih Ahmed 11/4/2008 12:00:00 AM
The enemy must be fought. That seems to be the consensus in Pakistan, but who exactly might the enemy be? With the government led by President Asif Ali Zardari making no overtures of peace with armed militants, Pakistan's right-wing commentators are recklessly redirecting their anger against the few individuals who have either been raising their voice against those they see as being responsible for the country's tilt toward the Taliban, or who fail to conform to Islamic social conventions.
THE LAST WORD
The View From Israel
Kevin Peraino 11/1/2008 12:00:00 AM
Stanley Fischer may be thousands of miles from the epicenter of Wall Street's meltdown, but few people are better positioned to understand it. The 65-year-old former MIT economics professor supervised Ben Bernanke's doctoral thesis on the Great Depression. Later, Fischer worked as a senior IMF official during the Asian financial crisis. Three years ago he moved to Israel after finance minister Benjamin Netanyahu persuaded him to leave his job at Citigroup and take over as the Jewish state's central banker. He spoke with NEWSWEEK's Kevin Peraino at his office in Jerusalem. Excerpts:
ECONOMICS
The View From Israel
Kevin Peraino 10/30/2008 12:00:00 AM
Stanley Fischer may be thousands of miles from the epicenter of Wall Street's meltdown, but few people are better positioned to understand it. The 65-year-old former MIT economics professor supervised Ben Bernanke's doctoral thesis on the Great Depression. Later Fischer worked as a senior IMF official during the Asian financial crisis. Three years ago he moved to Israel after finance minister Benjamin Netanyahu persuaded him to leave his job at Citigroup and take over as the Jewish state's central banker. He spoke with NEWSWEEK's Kevin Peraino at his office in Jerusalem. Excerpts:
POINT OF VIEW
India’s Terrorist Problem
Selig S. Harrison 10/18/2008 12:00:00 AM
The main focus of the Bush administration's war on terror has been countering the threat posed by Al Qaeda and the Taliban to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Now, the latest evidence indicates that Islamist extremists have broadened their offensive to include India—and Pakistan's own intelligence agencies are complicit. Unless Washington broadens its counterterrorism strategy and forces Islamabad to crack down, the Islamists could end up wreaking havoc not only in Pakistan but also in India—eight times larger, a rising global power with growing ties to the United States and a huge and restive Muslim minority.
Mail Call: Russia’s Power Play
10/11/2008 12:00:00 AM
I agree with Clifford G. Gaddy's Sept. 1 essay, "How Not to Punish Moscow." Gaddy writes, "It appears that Russia will have its way with Georgia and that the West is powerless to do anything about it." Remember that Georgia was part of the Soviet Union. Although it gained independence, as far as Russia is concerned Georgia remains a vassal state. Russia will not tolerate positioning of weapons of destruction in its vassal states under the guise of NATO or other security arrangements with the West. What Russia did to Georgia is reminiscent of America's quarantine of Cuba when the Soviet Union placed missiles there. Thus, Russia feels justified in teaching a lesson to Georgia—a country viewed as too pro-America and beginning to feel that its independence is a license to test Russia's patience. Vladimir Putin is no ordinary leader. Being an ex-KGB man and proud of his Russian blood, he's prepared to go all the way to redeem Russia's pride after the unexpected loss of rich territories that have become nation-states in their own right. Georgia learned a lesson in ethnic politics. When Putin gave the order to invade Georgia, it was done with careful calculation. It will not be in America's or NATO's interest to retaliate militarily unless they are prepared for Armageddon. Russia is not Iraq, and Putin is not Saddam Hussein. The United States and NATO should not pour salt over wounds by making disparaging remarks, but must endeavor to look at the issue from a wider perspective in the name of peace, love and humanity.Hassan Bin TalibSelangor, Malaysia