Bin Laden Raid Revives Debate on Value of Torture
05 May 2011
Did brutal interrogations produce the crucial intelligence that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden? As intelligence officials disclosed the trail of evidence that led to the compound in Pakistan where Bin Laden was hiding, a chorus of Bush administration officials claimed vindication for their policy of “enhanced interrogation techniques” like waterboarding. Among them was John Yoo, a former Justice Department official who wrote secret...
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Pakistani Army, Shaken by Raid, Faces New Scrutiny
05 May 2011
The reputation of the army, the most powerful and privileged force in Pakistan, has been severely undermined by the American raid that killed Osama bin Laden, raising profound questions about its credibility from people at home and from benefactors abroad, including the United States. That American helicopters could fly into Pakistan, carrying a team to kill the world’s most wanted terrorist and then fly out undetected has produced a stunned...
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Media and Governance in Pakistan: A Controversial yet Essential Relationship
05 May 2011
The historical evolution of the media in Pakistan underlines an interesting state of affairs, whereby all the original owners of print media were individuals with a background in journalism and often with a defined political/nationalist agenda. However, since the electronic media liberalisation of 2002, the situation has changed, with many media owners operating purely according to commercial interests and with no professional attachment to journalism. The...
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Islam and Politics in Pakistan: Backgrounder
05 May 2011
Since Pakistan's beginnings as a homeland for Muslims of British India in 1947, Islam has been the one thread creating a national identity in a state otherwise divided along ethnic, provincial, cultural, religious, class, and linguistic lines. Civilian and military leaders have used Islam to gain legitimacy for their rule and as tools of state policy, strengthening the role of religious parties in politics and society. Since the 1980s, following...
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Special Report: Why the US Mistrusts Pakistan's Spies
05 May 2011
[...] Since 9/11 the United States has relied on Pakistan's military to fight al Qaeda and Taliban forces in the mountainous badlands along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. President George W. Bush forged a close personal relationship with military leader Musharraf. But U.S. officials have also grown frustrated with Pakistan. While Islamabad has been instrumental in catching second-tier and lower ranked al Qaeda and Taliban leaders, and several...
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