Afghanistan's "Swine Politics"
For almost five years, Kim Barker was the South Asia bureau chief for the Chicago Tribune, directing coverage of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India. After the Tribune decided to cut back on foreign coverage, Barker quit in May to write a book and become the Edward R. Murrow fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Kabul has gone on red alert over swine flu-though the disease is not much in evidence. Kim Barker reports on why some think the government is using the disease as a pretext for stifling dissent.
The Great Fallacy of Obama's War
Well known Indian journalist M.J. Akbar is the editor of Covert, a fortnightly magazine of current affairs, a blogger and the author of many books, most recently Blood Brothers.
As the president dithers about whether to send 36,000 more troops or 40,000-as if 4,000 will convert potential humiliation into a historic victory-M.J. Akbar explains why the warlords always get the last word.
What the Soldiers Need
Frances Townsend served as assistant to President George W. Bush for homeland security and counterterrorism and chaired the Homeland Security Council from May 2004 until January 2008. She previously served as deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for combating terrorism from May 2003 to May 2004. Most recently, she provided consulting services and advice to corporate entities on global strategic engagement and risk as well as crisis and contingency planning.
With Obama's final decision on a troop surge in Afghanistan looming, Bush security adviser Frances Townsend argues that a lack of civilian support for the military may be our Achilles' heel.
Stalled Out All Over the World
Leslie H. Gelb, a former New York Times columnist and senior government official, is author of Power Rules: How Common Sense Can Rescue American Foreign Policy (HarperCollins 2009), a book that shows how to think about and use power in the 21st century. He is president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Our Afghan ally lacks legitimacy. The Mideast peace process is stuck. Iran flouts our wishes, and Iraq is falling apart. Leslie H. Gelb on how Obama can get foreign policy back out of the ditch.
Shattering Kabul's Calm
Elise Jordan served as a director for communications in the National Security Council from 2008-2009. A former speechwriter for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, she lived and worked in Kabul, Afghanistan for most of the last year.
A militant attack a U.N. guesthouse in the Afghan capital did more than kill eight civilians. Elise Jordan on the bombing that paralyzed aid workers-and struck fear in the hearts of expats.
Why Afghans Are Turning On America
Elise Jordan served as a director for communications in the National Security Council from 2008-2009. A former speechwriter for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, she lived and worked in Kabul, Afghanistan for most of the last year.
The generals aren't the only ones awaiting an Obama decision on Afghanistan. Without a clear sign of U.S. intentions, Elise Jordan argues, the Afghan people are becoming anti-American.
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
Lee Siegel has written about culture and politics and is the author of three books: Falling Upwards: Essays in Defense of the Imagination; Not Remotely Controlled: Notes on Television; and, most recently, Against the Machine: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob. In 2002, he received a National Magazine Award for reviews and criticism.
Peter Beinart, senior political writer for The Daily Beast, is a professor of journalism and political science at City University of New York and a senior fellow at the New America Foundation.
Gerald Posner is The Daily Beast's Chief Investigative Reporter. He's the award-winning author of 10 investigative nonfiction bestsellers, ranging from political assassinations, to Nazi war criminals, to 9/11, to terrorism. His latest book, Miami Babylon: Crime, Wealth and Power—A Dispatch from the Beach, was published in October. He lives in Miami Beach with his wife, the author Trisha Posner.
Martin Jacques is the cofounder of the UK think tank Demos, writes a regular column for The Guardian, and is a visiting research fellow at the London School of Economics Asia Research Centre. His new book, When China Rules the World, is available now.
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