Michael Kugelman is Asia Program deputy director and senior associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. He can be reached on Twitter @michaelkugelman and at michael.kugelman@wilsoncenter.org. He is also a Board Member of South Asia Journal.
If America goes all-in on Afghanistan and fails, it’ll be easier to walk away. Michael Kugelman July 16, 2017 Afghanistan has suffered through a harrowing summer, even by the nightmarish standards of a country convulsed by conflict for decades. On May 31, a truck bomb exploded in Kabul’s heavily fortified diplomatic enclave, killing more than
READ MOREThe Indian prime minister’s visit telegraphed a familiar message: The U.S.-India relationship is going places, and fast. Michael Kugelman June 27, 2017 There was something both familiar and reassuring about Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Washington. It was familiar because it was reminiscent of his previous trips here as premier. And at
READ MOREBloombergQuintOpinion Michael Kugelman @MichaelKugelman June 21, 2017, 9:21 am June 21, 2017, 3:30 am Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon be travelling to Washington D.C. for a visit with President of the United States Donald Trump. Since the two men will be meeting for the first time, a major focus of their exchange will
READ MORENarendra Modi was a global pariah only a few years ago, a Hindu nationalist vilified for anti-Muslim riots that left hundreds dead in Gujarat state. Halfway into his term as India’s prime minister, his swashbuckling foreign policy is scoring military and economic deals from Washington to Beijing. In early March 2013, following pressure from students and
READ MOREBy Michael Kugelman Michael Kugelman is deputy director and senior associate for South Asia with the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center. The views expressed here are his own. (CNN)In recent days, with Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgency continuing to gain steam and America’s longest war staggering through its 16th year, analysts have started invoking the
READ MOREThe Trump administration is taking its eyes off the ball in Afghanistan. The real threat is still al Qaeda. By Michael Kugelman On April 13, the U.S. military dropped a huge bomb on caves and tunnels used by Islamic State fighters in eastern Afghanistan. The resulting blast reverberated several miles away, reportedly killed dozens of
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In May 2002, police discovered the mutilated body of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Karachi, Pakistan. When it was time for Pearl’s remains to be collected and prepared for the long trip back to the United States, the police who found the body didn’t undertake this delicate task. Neither did any other law
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Last month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inked a major transport corridor deal withIran and Afghanistan. According to the terms, India will provide $500 million to develop a port in the southern Iranian city of Chabahar. New Delhi also pledged to invest $16 billion in a free trade zone around the city. Additionally, there will
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President Barack Obama has confirmed that Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baluchistan this weekend, possibly Washington’s biggest counterterrorism triumph in Pakistan since the raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound five years ago. Much about the strike remains murky, but these five things are clear: 1. The Taliban has been dealt a devastating
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Why have two very different leaders struck up such a close bond? Several months after U.S. President Barack Obama’s trip to India, one question still lingers: Why did he and his host, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, get along so well? The memories of this bonhomie still resonate: the bear hug, the warm body language,
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Back in 2011, the American actor George Clooney recalled asking Barack Obama to identify the one thing that kept him up at night. “Pakistan,” replied the US president. Obama did not elaborate. We can assume, however, that he was alluding to the various nightmare scenarios that spooked Washington officialdom back then, including loose nukes and
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Several weeks ago, the Pakistani armed forces accused India’s intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, or RAW, of fomenting terrorism. A statement issued by the military’s media wing after a Corps Commanders conference on May 5 minced no words. “The Conference…took serious notice of RAW’s involvement in whipping up terrorism in Pakistan.” RAW Emotion
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The United States is increasingly on the outside looking in as China — and India — invest across South and Central Asia. And that’s a good thing for Washington. On April 20, Chinese President Xi Jinping received a hero’s welcome in Islamabad. It’s easy to understand why. He was in town to announce a bonanza
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Recent weeks have brought a bevy of news headlines attesting to the rising profile of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in South Asia. The group’s literature has circulated in Pakistan, and its flags have been spotted in Kashmir. Several Pakistani militant commanders expressed their allegiance to ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Alleged
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