Pakistani Army Says Soldiers Need More Gear | Newsweek Scope

Pakistan’s Fickle Ally
Sumit Ganguly 10/9/2009 12:00:00 AM
President Obama is on the verge of signing legislation that would grant $7.5 billion in new aid to Pakistan over the next five years, most of it in the form of economic assistance designed to strengthen the alliance and induce Pakistan to move more aggressively against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Pakistan’s New Taliban
9/19/2009 12:00:00 AM
As president Obama mulls sending more troops to Afghanistan, he faces a reluctant Congress, unpersuaded Americans, and wary allies, who are all raising the quintessential question: why are we there? The one-word answer: Pakistan. If preventing September 11–type attacks is the goal, then no other country's stability is more important. But even as the old guard of the Pakistan Taliban is pushed out of the Swat Valley, Pakistan is in danger yet again. A new, more virulent faction is emerging in the volatile center and south—which, if left unchallenged, has the potential to destabilize the nuclear-armed country.
Nuclear Nonstarter
Sumit Ganguly 5/6/2009 12:00:00 AM
Key Obama administration officials, including the national-security adviser, General James Jones, have expressed concerns about the safety and security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons in light of the seemingly inexorable advance of the Taliban toward the nation's capital. The public airing of such misgivings, at one level, is certainly understandable. No responsible policymaker would want to consider the possibility of even a small part of Pakistan's nuclear assets falling into the hands of one of the most vicious, anti-American, Islamist groups.
Change We Can’t Believe In
Fareed Zakaria 5/2/2009 12:00:00 AM
Finally, we are told, the Pakistani military has gotten serious about the threat that militants pose to its country. The Army is now fighting back for real, sending troops to dislodge the jihadists who had spread out of the Swat Valley. We hear this from Pakistani commanders, of course, but also from civilian leaders as well as from U.S. officials, including the secretary of defense, Robert Gates. In an interview with me for CNN, Gates said, "I think the movement of the Taliban so close to Islamabad was a real wake-up call for them."
INTERNATIONAL
A Turnaround Strategy
Fareed Zakaria 1/31/2009 12:00:00 AM
In May 2006 a unit of American soldiers in Afghanistan's Uruzgan valley were engulfed in a ferocious fire fight with the Taliban. Only after six hours, and supporting airstrikes, could they extricate themselves from the valley. But what was most revealing about the battle was the fact that many local farmers spontaneously joined in, rushing home to get their weapons. Asked later why they'd done so, the villagers claimed they didn't support the Taliban's ideological agenda, nor were they particularly hostile toward the Americans. But this battle was the most momentous thing that had happened in their valley for years. If as virile young men they had stood by and just watched, they would have been dishonored in their communities. And, of course, if they were going to fight, they could not fight alongside the foreigners.
CAPITAL SOURCES
The Afghan Puzzle
Dan Ephron 1/12/2009 12:00:00 AM
President-elect Barack Obama's national-security team is studying several options for improving the situation in Afghanistan, including the military's plan to nearly double troop levels there. But assessments of the seven-year-old war are mostly grim. A report issued last month by the International Council on Security and Development said the Taliban now holds a permanent presence in 72 percent of Afghanistan.