bout de papier, Vol. 26, No. 2 (2011) — Fall/Winter 2011 // Automne/Hiver 2011, p. 28
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 accomplished, how we conducted ourselves, and what — from a policy perspective — we will need to do in future? Although bout cannot take the lead on answering that question, readers have said that they want more forthright discussion of issues critical to the Foreign Service. They want the big picture. For Afghanistan that means taking Pakistan into account, and for Pakistan, India remains absolutely central. So bout approached three experts for their respective insights:
Canada’s Kathy Gannon (an award-winning journalist and author of I for Infidel) describes an Afghanistan that has
changed little from the horror that was the aftermath of the Soviet invasion.
Pakistan’s Lieutenant General (Retd) Talat Masood (security analyst, international media commentator, and democracy
advocate) asks readers to see the conflict in the region comprehensively, and to understand not only the sense of existential threat that Pakistanis face, but how much the country has endured with wars to the west, conflict to the north, and the
abiding threat they sense from the east.
Former High Commissioner David Malone describes an India that is focused on its own development and on a broader
game as the region’s rising economic power — a country that demands attention, and earned it.
Our contributors offer thought-provoking perspectives on three key countries of a region that is of central concern to policy makers and those who carry it out.
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 26, No. 2 (2011) — Fall/Winter 2011 // Automne/Hiver 2011, p. 28. Read the rest of this issue →
