New U.S. base in northern Afghanistan?; Pak cracks down on Punjabi Taliban, sort of; India considers beefing up border presence even more; Headley tells India ISI involved in Mumbai

India eases defense purchasing; Maoists get their wish, Nepal PM resigns; Afghanistan draws closer to Pakistan; Al Qaeda down to 500 or less; Controversial new media law in Pakistan

The new issue of Rolling Stone magazine has yet to hit newsstands, but its centerpiece - a devastating expose of Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan - already has sent shockwaves through Washington. The article, copies of which already have found their way onto the Internet, paints an unflattering picture of a military commander at war with his own civilian leadership, replete with insults of sitting officials and serious charges of political malfeasance.

Since news of the piece leaked over the weekend, Gen. McChrystal has issued repeated public mea culpas and was forced to fly to Washington for an in-person dressing down by the president. The apologies were not enough; Wednesday afternoon, President Obama announced that he had relieved Gen. McChrystal of duty as commander of the Afghan theater.

Taliban turn to Tehran for training; Hezb-i-Islami makes an offer in Afghanistan; Assessment of Bangladesh militancy; Maoists up the stakes against New Delhi

The coup that swept the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan in early April caught almost everyone by surprise. The ouster of the country's strongman president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, after two days of rioting by opposition forces, likely at Russia's instigation, has fundamentally altered politics in the impoverished but strategically vital Central Asian state. In the process, it has called into question the stability of America's presence in the "post-Soviet space."

Nato courting Moscow for Afghan assistance; Pakistan's constitution gets a makeover; More hardware to Sino-Indian border; New intel satellite for India; Iran and Pakistan reach deal on "Peace Pipeline"

LeT in America's sight's; Maoists respond to Operation Green Hunt; CIA and ISI draw closer; In arms sales, U.S. doesn't discriminate

QDR supports expanded role for India; China's influence grows in Nepal at Tibetans expense; India launches major offensive against Maosists; Embracing the drone in Afghanistan

Change is afoot in Pakistan. Evidence was on display in early February, with the capture of the Afghan Taliban’s number two commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in a joint operation by the CIA and Pakistani intelligence. The arrest of Baradar, who had been operating with relative impunity in Pakistan for years, was met with elation in Washington, where officials have been fruitlessly pressing the Pakistanis to crack down on the Afghan Taliban since 2001.

A step forward for South Stream;
Russia's emptying schools

KARACHI MOVES INTO TALIBAN CROSSHAIRS; VIOLENCE RETURNS TO KASHMIR; IN NEPAL, MAOISTS PUSH THE ENVELOPE; AFGHAN INTEL FAILURES EXPOSED

Nepal's Maoists stand behind Naxalites; Afghan Taliban humbled; South Asian proliferation; IPI missing an "I"... for now

Pak: We want PEACE without the strings; Advanced U.S. aircraft to India; Indian embassy in Afghanistan struck for second time; Sri Lanka: civil war over but defense budget rising

How Iran sees Geneva; Obstructionism from Beijing; Reading the tea leaves in Riyadh; The Pasdaran in Afghanistan; Montazeri versus the IRI

What to do about Afghanistan? Ever since taking office in January, President Obama has received no shortage of advice about the proper way forward on the first front of America's struggle against radical Islam. Some have argued that Afghanistan is politically the same as Iraq — a war of choice in which America has little at stake, and even less idea of how to achieve victory — and counseled withdrawal. Others have acknowledged Afghanistan's strategic importance, while stressing that nothing more is required than simply relying on Coalition and NATO support to continue fighting an insurgency that is now in its seventh year. Still others have suggested that lightning can in effect strike twice, and the very same "surge" strategy adopted by the Bush administration in 2007 to deal with Iraq will reap dividends in Afghanistan as well.

Strengthening the U.S.-Japanese alliance;
Keeping AfPak on track

Carrots and sticks, North Korean style;
Sri Lanka's military presses its advantage

The long arm of Chechen politics;
Another energy move in Eastern Europe

Back in 2007, commentators were sounding the alarm that Pakistan was approaching a precipice. A lot has changed in two years. Pakistan’s problems then—protesters clogging the streets of Islamabad demanding President Musharraf’s resignation, and sporadic Taliban raids on coalition forces in Afghanistan—were but a glimpse of the danger ahead. No one could have imagined the speed and intensity with which the Taliban and their allies have since spread east from their sanctuary in the Hindu Kush mountains to threaten an invasion of the Pakistani capital.