Pakistan Puzzle

By David Ignatius

In Pakistan, the joke goes: "All countries have armies, but here, an army has a country."(The Washington Post)

A War on Pakistan's Schoolgirls

By Yasmeen Hassan

Why Pakistan's tribal areas are seeing a sequel to Afghanistan.(The Washington Post)

President Obama's Policy Options in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)

Hassan Abbas, ISPU Fellow

There is an emerging consensus among foreign policy experts that the growing insurgency and militancy in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) poses the greatest security challenge not only to Pakistan and Afghanistan, but also to the United States. Some scholars even project that a major terrorist act with al-Qaeda footprints in the United States might result in an American strike and ground invasion of this area. President Barack Obama has repeatedly talked about stepping up military action in Afghanistan as a panacea to the expanding crisis in that country and hinted as early as August 2007 that if elected, he would sanction direct military strikes in FATA if there were “actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets” and if Pakistan failed to act. Situation has deteriorated in the region during the last year further complicating Obama’s policy options for stabilizing South Asia. (Read more...)

Pakistan takes over main center of suspect charity

By BABAR DOGAR

LAHORE, Pakistan -- Pakistan formally took control Sunday of the main operational facility of a charity allegedly linked to the Mumbai attacks, underscoring its ongoing effort to ease international pressure over militancy on its soil.(The Washington Post)

2 U.S. Airstrikes Offer a Concrete Sign of Obama's Pakistan Policy

By R. Jeffrey Smith, Candace Rondeaux and Joby Warrick

Two remote U.S. missile strikes that killed at least 20 people at suspected terrorist hideouts in northwestern Pakistan yesterday offered the first tangible sign of President Obama's commitment to sustained military pressure on the terrorist groups there, even though Pakistanis broadly oppose suc...(The Washington Post)

Cabbie's Robbery, Killing Crushes Family and Peers

By Christian Davenport

He didn't like to work nights, not when he could be at home in Fairfax County with his wife and three children. But it was inauguration weekend. Visitors were swarming into Washington. There was money to be made.(The Washington Post)

As Obama Visits State Dept., Clinton Announces 2 Special Envoys

By Karen DeYoung and Glenn Kessler

President Obama traveled to the State Department yesterday afternoon for a visit that was as rich in symbolism as in substance, underscoring his pledge to give top priority to diplomacy as he outlined an activist policy in the Middle East and warned that "difficult days lie ahead" in Afghanistan.(The Washington Post)

In Afghan South, Taliban Fill NATO's Big Gaps

By DEXTER FILKINS
Southern Afghanistan is one of two centers of the Taliban insurgency, which has made a remarkable resurgence since being removed from power in November 2001.(The New York Times)

Pakistan arrests suspected planners of NATO attacks

By Alamgir Bitani

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani security forces arrested seven suspected al Qaeda militants on Wednesday believed to have planned attacks on trucks taking supplies to Western forces in Afghanistan, intelligence officials said.(The Washington Post)

On First Full Day, Obama Will Dive Into Foreign Policy

By Michael D. Shear and Karen DeYoung

President-elect Barack Obama will plunge into foreign policy on his first full day in office tomorrow, finally freed from the constraints of tradition that has forced him and his staff to remain muzzled about world affairs during the 78-day transition.(The Washington Post)

Pakistan: 15 militants, 1 soldier killed

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Security forces killed 15 militants during a raid in a northwest Pakistani tribal region where troops have battled al-Qaida and Taliban insurgents, the military said in a statement Sunday.(The Washington Post)

Afghanistan: We Can Do Better

By Jaap de Hoop Scheffer

We are not where we might have hoped to be by now.(The Washington Post)

Pakistan extends crackdown on Mumbai suspects

By STEPHEN GRAHAM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan insisted it would help India to bring those behind the Mumbai terrorist attacks to justice, saying Thursday it had shut down extremist Web sites and suspected militant training camps, and detained 71 people in a deepening probe.(The Washington Post)

Pakistan reopens NATO supply route

By MATIULLAH ACHAKZAI

CHAMAN, Pakistan -- Pakistan reopened a supply route for NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan on Wednesday after tribesmen ended a three-day blockade.(The Washington Post)

Pakistan state not linked to Mumbai attack: Britain

By Krittivas Mukherjee

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Britain's foreign minister said on Tuesday he believed the Pakistan state did not direct the Mumbai attacks, contradicting accusations from the Indian government that state agencies were involved.(The Washington Post)