December, 2007

Earlier today a suicide bomber set off a bomb in a mosque in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 50 and injuring 80. The mosque was packed with people celebrating "one of Islam's major holidays with the country's former interior minister." The official was not harmed but his extended family were among the injured.

The Bush Administration recently named Afghanistan as a higher priority than in previous months, pulling together with NATO to begin a "top-to-bottom review of the entire mission." They will focus specifically on greater coordin

For this first time since 2004, Congress has set restrictions on the $6 billion, five-year program to provide military and economic aid to Pakistan. Yesterday, Congress' aid restrictions were approved in the spending bill by both the House and Senate and sent to President Bush.

This Journal of Peacebuilding & Development piece by Richard Hill, Jonathan Temin, and Lisa Pacholek, examines how alternative security mechanisms evolve communities in two fragile states, Columbia and Liberia.

At the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Cyrus Hodes and Mark Sedra wrote the Adelphi Paper, "The Search for Security in Post-Taliban Afghanistan":

The Institute for the Study on International Migration, at Georgetown University, and the Center for International and Regional Studies, at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, recently published "Iraqi Refugees: Seekin

In May 2007, the GAO put out "Actions Needed to Improve DOD’s Stability Operations Approach and Enhance Interagency Planning" for the Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House of Representatives.

This Journal of Peacebuilding & Development piece by Richard Hill, Jonathan Temin, and Lisa Pacholek, examines how alternative security mechanisms evolve communities in two fragile states, Columbia and Liberia.

Secretary of State Condi Rice and Senator Richard Lugar (Indiana-R) wrote an article in the Washpost yesterday on the urgency of creating the proposed Civilian Reserve Corps-- a "volunteer cadre of civilian experts" who will work in the "urgent jobs of post-conflict stabilization a

PCR Project Co-director Rick Barton is quoted in the International Analyst Network, an online portal for analysts in the spheres of foreign policy, geopolitics, and counterterrorism.

Turkey launches strikes into Iraq, prompting calls from the international community for Turkey to use restraint and diplomacy in resolving their conflict with the PKK.

A return to normalcy? A prominent Pakistani blogger doesn't think so; in a recent blog post he chides those who believe there will be a return to the way things were, pre-emergency rule.

As promised, Musharraf lifted the emergency rule in Pakistan. Constitutional changes declared during the emergency rule remain intact and the justices relieved of their duties are forced to retire permanently.

Turkey launches strikes into Iraq, prompting calls from the international community for Turkey to use restraint and diplomacy in resolving their conflict with the PKK.

Sub-Saharan Africa is becoming an increasingly attractive hunting ground for daring investors. Please click here to read the article in the Economist explaining this innovative new development.

Unfortunately as "Breaking Point" predicted, violence is up in Afghanistan and President Bush is facing heat from the military to bulk up forces there while scaling them down in Iraq.

Bridges to Common Ground is an educational non-profit, formed in 2005, whose mission is to build "bridges of brotherhood and friendship among people of different faith traditions." The organization highlights the frightening gap between Muslims and the West as one of the "greatest challenges to peace human progress in the 21st Century."

The Atlantic put out a great slide show of what they consider daily life in Afghanistan--past the fighting, the everyday reality...check out it, really amazing pics!

Statesman Journal put out a great OpEd piece featuring a Q&A with "A Perilous Course" coauthor and CSIS Deputy Chief of Staff and Fellow, EVENT | The Uses and Abuses of Expertise in War and Reconstruction in Iraq

Please join the American Strategy Program/New America Foundation on Thursday, December 13 for an informal conversation focusing the U.S. government and its faltering efforts to mobilize sufficient expertise while planning the incursion into Iraq and its reconstruction.

The United States must scrap the current structure of the State Department and radically reshape its foreign assistance, trade and diplomatic programs to create a super-size international affairs agency to meet overseas challenges, a majority in a congressionally mandated bipartisan commission will recommend tomorrow.

CSIS provided support to an independent commission appointed by Congress to conduct an assessment of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).

Our friends at the CSIS Commission on Smart Power (PCR Co-Director Rick Barton is a commissioner) have a few cool event coming this week that you might want to check out, all of which will be held at CSIS (rsvp to phering@csis.org):

Good new piece from the Stimson Center.

CSIS, with local partners the World Affairs Council of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, invite you to:

How American Can Become A Smarter Power:
Does It Matter At Home If They Don't Like Us Abroad?

Speech by:

Joseph S. Nye, Jr.
Former Pentagon Official & Distinguished Service Professor, Harvard University

Followed by:

The final report of the DARA Humanitarian Response Index 2007, a tool designed to measure how well humanitarian donors are performing relative to their commitment to good humanitarian donorship principles established in 2003, was recently presented in London with the participation of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, DARA's Director Silvia Hidalgo, and HRI Project Director Augusto López-C

The PCR Project hosted an event, featuring Craig Charney and Rodney Petersen to address recommendations from our report, "Mixed Blessings: U.S. Government Engagement with Religion in Conflict-Prone Settings," released in July 2007.

The session was divided into two parts:

Moderated by PCR Project Co-Director Rick Barton, Carol Bellamy, president and CEO of World Learning, H.

The Carnegie Endowment South Asia Program invites you to attend: Pakistan-Conflicted Ally in the War on Terror

In a new Policy Brief, Pakistan-Conflicted Ally in the War on Terror, Ashley Tellis contends that if the United States wants a stronger Pakistani commitment to the "War on Terror," it must first recognize that Pakistan's poor performance cannot be attributed simply to malfeasance by Pakistan's military elite. Tellis argues that Pakistani counterterrorism efforts have been impeded by Islamabad's military ineptitude, Pakistan's political deterioration, a lack of public support for "Washington's war," and the ineffective Afghan government. He says that the majority of Pakistani military officials, despite fears over domestic repercussions and long-term U.S. interests in the region, support operations aimed at defeating terrorism.

The Center for Stabilization and Reconstruction Studies (CSRS) is a teaching institute located at the Naval Postgraduate School, whose purpose is to provide educational opportunities for the full-spectrum of actors that become involved in stabilization and reconstruction activities. We applaud the Navy for undertaking stabilization and reconstruction activities as an important part of the new year. On January 30-31st, 2008 the CSRS will host the "The U.S. Navy's 2008 Stability and Security Conference," pulling both Navy and non-Navy stakeholders to address several key Navy-centric topics including:

* Receive and discuss emerging S&R concepts throughout the Navy
* Discuss and share information about contemporary Navy contributions to S&R and present Navy capabilities and experiences to non-Navy S&R actors.
* Strengthen and better network the Navy professional S&R community within and outside the Navy.
* Introduce perspectives and priorities of other S&R actors to the Navy S&R community.

Yesterday, the PCR Project hosted Ms. Favia Koofi, a member of the Afghan Parliament, and Ambassador Ronald Neumann, former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and prospects for the future.

This is a pretty big deal - we've been tracking the pressure-cooker-of-a-situation that is the U.S. position regarding Iran, and so this newest NIE (National Intelligence Estimate) does rock the boat, reporting that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003.