Ahmed Rashid: ELECTION 2008 - CRITICAL FOREIGN POLICY ISSUES

Ahmed Rashid

Afghanistan and Pakistan

WHAT THE NEXT PRESIDENT NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND AND DO

Whether the American people choose Senator John McCain or Barack Obama, the next American President will be consumed by foreign policy issues involving Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, as well as Iraq, Israel, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians. Much else is going on in our troubled world but the situation in the greater Middle East will have to be a major priority for the next U.S. government.

One of the most thoughtful and distinguished journalists from that part of the world is Ahmed Rashid who lives in Lahore, Pakistan. Rashid’s most recent book is titled Descent into Chaos and his previous best-seller is Taliban and Jihad. He has covered Afghanistan’s changing fortunes since the 1978 Soviet invasion, the rise of Osama bin Laden, and the destabilization of the entire strategic area. Today he writes for the Far Eastern Economic Review, the Daily Telegraph, and The Wall Street Journal.

Rashid recently outlined the major mistakes the U.S. has made in Afghanistan and Pakistan in recent years. Watch our GfA exclusive video. Indeed we urge both of the Presidential candidates and their foreign policy advisers to take a half hour and do so.

June 10, 2008 | Filed Under GFA