The Iran split in the White House on May 19, 2018Insanity prevailed. Trump did it again. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or Iran nuclear deal as is more commonly known is ripped apart by a man who was described by the ghost-writer of the book “The Art of the Deal” to be someone having no books at his residence or office. I am […]
The legality of the Syrian airstrikes — II on May 3, 2018Criticism of the American, French and British airstrikes on Syria is highly revealing. It highlights how much these ‘rogue states’ respect and value international laws and norms. In reality, dictionaries can use their words and actions to encapsulate the meaning of the word ‘hypocrisy.’ The French view the attack ordered by President Macron as the […]
Legality of the Syria strikes — I on April 22, 2018The latest Syria sabre-rattling started with a threat from President Trump. He tweeted that missiles at Syria ‘will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart!’’ Since Russia is not a defenceless nation, the nasty threat was hurled at her Middle Eastern ally. Assad was threatened because he allegedly committed a crime that western democratic nations […]
A new approach to Afghanistan on April 9, 2018Let me clarify at the outset that this is not about the Nash equilibrium in game theory. I could assure you that Donald Trump doesn’t know about game theory or the Nash equilibrium and I can guarantee this that he wouldn’t even understand it if one tried to teach him. Having that said, I think […]
Pak-US ties — The Truman Show on April 2, 2018In the movie The Truman Show, the character Truman Burbank played impeccably by Jim Carrey is a story of a fake life that he leads. Everything around him is orchestrated so as to make his life a TV show for public consumption. Pakistan’s relations with the United States are not much different. Everything said about […]
Do more or we’ll take the decisive action on March 23, 2018The meeting between US Vice President Mike Pence and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was significant for a variety of reasons, one of which is that both are powerless leaders whose strings are pulled by those above them. In Pence’s case, it is a self-proclaimed ‘stable genius’ who just days ago filed a lawsuit […]
We don’t negotiate with the terrorists on March 7, 2018Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s offer of peace with the Taliban ‘without preconditions’ is a welcome sign. Ghani must be lauded for this almost unprecedented offer since he has offered to recognise the Taliban as a legitimate political party. There is a unique scholarship available, which claims to have found the elixir to end militancy: allowing […]
Hardening schools? How about nation states? on February 27, 2018The Florida shooting is one more addition to an endless list of tragedies caused due to a deliberate misinterpretation of the second amendment rights enshrined in the US Constitution. President Trump came up with the solution that ‘10 to 20 percent’ of the teaching staff should be armed to prevent such massacres in the future. […]
Honey, poison, and power systems on February 19, 2018Nowadays, it is hard to find a news story on US-Pakistan relations. There is a sense of bitterness on the both sides. The bilateral relations between Pakistan and US have been mostly characterised by enmity and ups and downs. Ties soured especially after the Raymond Davis affair and Bin Laden raid. The resurrection of the […]
Deciphering Trump’s gibberish about Pakistan on February 9, 2018A document was released on Tuesday night while President Trump was finishing his first State of the Union speech. It is focused on issues that Trump either missed in his speech or only mentioned them without elaborating much: mainly Afghanistan and Pakistan. Just a quick recap of the background: President Trump in his 21 August […]