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Afghanistan and Pakistan

Great Decisions 2009 | Topic 2
Pak Af

Newfound hopes for stability in Iraq have shifted the U.S. military focus back to Afghanistan and Pakistan, one of the most volatile border regions in the world. What impact will this renewed interest have on the two states as well as on U.S. defense strategy?

Visit the Pakistan Blog or the Afghanistan Blog

Read the Spring Update

Read the Fall Update

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Online Resources »
‘Western Hypocrisy'

An exclusive interview with A.Q Khan, considered the "father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb" as well as being responsible for proliferating nuclear knowledge and technology to other countries.

Pakistan Flood Sets Back Infrastructure by Years

This article from The New York Time provides an early assessment of the damage wrought on Pakistan's infrastructure by flooding throughout the country.

Torrent of Challenges for U.S. in Pakistan

In this interview from CFR, South Asia expert Daniel Markey explains how the floods in Pakistan have compounded the government's challenges and made Washington's efforts in the fight against extremism more difficult.

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Quizzes »
Great Decisions 2009 Fall Quiz - Afghanistan and Pakistan

Test your knowledge of recent news on Afghanistan and Pakistan by taking a quiz based on the Great Decisions 2009 Fall Updates!

Great Decisions 2009 Spring Quiz Series - Afghanistan and Pakistan

Online topic quizzes are an ideal test of readers' knowledge of the Great Decisions 2009 articles and Spring Updates.

Great Decisions 2009 Winter Quiz Series - Afghanistan and Pakistan

Online topic quizzes are an ideal test of readers' knowledge of the Great Decisions 2009 articles.

In the Classroom »
Academic Module: War of Necessity, War of Choice

This academic module from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) features teaching notes by CFR President Richard N. Haass, author of War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars, along with other resources to supplement the text. In this CFR Book, Dr. Haass contrasts the decisions that shaped the conduct of two wars between the U.S. and Iraq, and writes an authoritative, personal account of how U.S. foreign policy is made, what it should seek, and how it should be pursued.

Foreign Affairs Student Writing Contest 2010

In the inaugural Foreign Affairs Essay Contest, a panel from the Foreign Affairs editorial staff will select one winning essay from submissions from undergraduate students. The winning essay will be published on the Foreign Affairs Web site and the winner will receive a $500 prize. Five honorable mentions will receive a free year-long subscription to Foreign Affairs.

The U.S. Role in a Changing World

The Choices Program offers a revised lesson plan for "The U.S. Role in a Changing World" to engage students in consideration of the range of issues on the U.S. agenda. The updated curriculum unit devotes additional attention to U.S. military security since the Cold War.

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Recommended Readings »
Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan

From the author of the #1 bestseller Three Cups of Tea, the continuing story of this determined humanitarian's efforts to promote peace through education. In this dramatic first-person narrative, Greg Mortenson picks up where Three Cups of Tea left off in 2003, recounting his relentless, ongoing efforts to establish schools for girls in Afghanistan; his extensive work in Azad Kashmir and Pakistan after a massive earthquake hit the region in 2005; and the unique ways he has built relationships with Islamic clerics, militia commanders, and tribal leaders even as he was dodging shootouts with feuding Afghan warlords and surviving an eight-day armed abduction by the Taliban.

Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History

Afghanistan traces the historic struggles and the changing nature of political authority in this volatile region of the world, from the Mughal Empire in the sixteenth century to the Taliban resurgence today. Afghanistan is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how a land conquered and ruled by foreign dynasties for more than a thousand years became the "graveyard of empires" for the British and Soviets, and what the United States must do to avoid a similar fate.

In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan

A definitive account of the American experience in Afghanistan from the rise of the Taliban to the depths of the insurgency. After the swift defeat of the Taliban in 2001, American optimism has steadily evaporated in the face of mounting violence; a new “war of a thousand cuts” has now brought the country to its knees. In the Graveyard of Empires is a political history of Afghanistan in the “Age of Terror” from 2001 to 2009, exploring the fundamental tragedy of America's longest war since Vietnam.

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Program Materials
Great Decisions 2009

Order your copy of the Great Decisions 2009 briefing book today! Great Decisions 2009 features impartial, thought-provoking analyses on eight issues of concern to U.S. policymakers today and that represent our foreign policy challenges of tomorrow.

Featured topics: U.S. & rising global powers, Afghanistan/Pakistan, energy & the global economy, the Arctic, U.S. & Egypt, global food supply, Cuba after Castro, and universal human rights. ($18, plus S&H)

 

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