The Problem of the Time Traveller’s Tango
My notebooks for the period between the summer of 1897 and that of 1899 record few cases that greatly taxed the powers of my friend Sherlock Holmes. I spent most of those years asleep. Holmes chafed at the enforced inactivity, indulging in…
Will the Long March to Democracy in Pakistan Finally Succeed?
to the country (and even for Pakistanis), never mind for those trying to make sense of events from afar. Fortunately two new publications have appeared that help: Sheila Fruman’s Will The Long March to Democracy in Pakistan Finally Succeed?, Peaceworks No. 73,…
Winter in Fireland: A Patagonian Sailing Adventure
I first became a fan of Nick Coghlan’s writing when reading his dispatches from our embassy in Colombia in the late nineties. In these reports, he combined the two qualities that make Winter in Fireland a gripping read – an irrepressible spirit…
The Longest War: The Enduring Conflict Between America and Al-Qaeda
Without a doubt future historians will label the first decade of the 21st millennium as one of war and violence, global in its scope and effect. The 2001 attacks in New York and northern Virginia, and the sadly flawed response both by…
L’Ouest et le monde musulman
Quand on me demande de donner un titre de conférence sur des questions liées à l’Islam ou au dialogue des civilisations, je me rends compte de l’ampleur du sujet et de l’impossibilité de cerner le sujet avec toute la précision voulue. Il…
David Malone on India: Excerpts and Interview
From the introduction to Does the Elephant Dance? Contemporary Indian Foreign Policy, by David Malone, Oxford University Press, 2011, 448 pp., $ 45.00.
Pakistan and the Aftermath of 9/11: What the West Fails to See
I have an affinity for Canadians. Close members of my family live in Canada, I have known many of your High Commissioners and I was a guest of the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service a few years ago for a conference on…
Afghanistan and the Devil’s Deal
It’s been 10 years since the start of Operation Enduring Freedom, when the world stood as one with the United States. The Taliban’s Mullah Mohammed Omar had refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, offering instead to put him on trial in…
South Asian Trilogy: Personal Perspectives on Afghanistan, Pakistan and India
Canada’s death toll in Afghanistan stood at 157 at the time of writing. It is a sobering figure. The withdrawal of Canadian troops from Kandahar represented a milestone in our engagement with South Asia, but have we reflected on what was actually…
Spies Left in the Cold?
The foreign intelligence mandate of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is one of its lesser known responsibilities. The department collects, collates, and disseminates foreign intelligence in support of the foreign policy process.
