By Bill Noxid The most disturbing consequence of the election of the first African-American president is the delusional rush to pretend that this country that was founded ( and continues to function ) on genocide and slavery, is somehow “past” racism.  Obviously, nothing could be further from the truth, and the fact that society as [...]

By Syed Irfan Ashraf Talibanisation is a carefully designed package comprising an assortment of soft and hard parts. Both are used as it is against the rules of the deadly game to nurture one category while ignoring the other. No one understands this better than journalists working in the north-western conflict zones of the country. [...]

1. The End of ‘Special Relationship’ by Irfan Husain 2. Not This Way by Cyril Almeida 3. Missing the Essence of Talibanism by Ayaz Amir 4. A Toxic Force Rises in Israel by Jonathan Freedland 5. Innovation from India: The Next Big Wave by Gunjan Bagla and Atul Goel 6. Laid-Off Foreigners Flee as Dubai [...]

By Adil Zareef PAKISTAN‘S interior adviser has announced a crisp new strategy for Swat, the details of which have not been divulged, although it was mentioned that Al Qaeda, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Tanzeem-i-Islami and the Tora Bora and Qari Mushtaq groups needed to be tackled. Fortunately, it has dawned on the authorities that the militants’ objective [...]

This time the Pakistan army confronts a devil that does not go away by merely shouting at. The devil shouts back. By Anwaar Hussain What is Pakistan army doing in Swat? This is not how an insurgency is fought. Recently, for example, in a single day’s blitz, 45 innocent people were blown to bits to [...]

By David Cole The story of America’s descent into torture in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, has been told now by many writers. Mark Danner, Jane Mayer, and Ron Suskind have written brilliant expositions of the facts, showing how the drive to prevent the next attack led the administration’s highest [...]