Vali Nasr has become my guru of Islam knowledge. His academic credentials as a scholar of the Middle East are good (Naval Postgraduate School and Council of Foreign Relations). He surely has opened my eyes to many of the problems inherent in intra-Islamic conflicts.
In the Christian Science Monitor, he presents an interpretation of what is at stake in Pakistan. While it is common knowledge that Musharraf has manipulated situations to secure his hold on both the military and presidency, I did not know that India has been making positive strides in Afghanistan, setting up offices throughout the country. In the past, the control exercised by the Pashtuns in both northwest Pakistan and Afghanistan served to upset any equilibrium in Afghanistan while providing a protection of Pakistan from India. While recognizing that the United States cannot give Pakistan greater security with India, he concludes by saying that “Washington can give Pakistan greater interest in Afghanistan's stability than it has now by encouraging Kabul to include Pakistan's allies and clients in government; and more important, to finally recognize its international border with Pakistan”.
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