Comment & Briefs

President Barack Obama’s announcement that the “American combat role in Iraq has ended” has created fresh challenges for the region. Iraq needs to meet the daunting internal and external challenges in the wake of the American withdrawal to ensure stability.

Indonesia, which has been taking significant measures to curb terrorism, scored another success with the arrest of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir aka ABB, suspected of having funded and ideologically motivated Al Qaeda Aceh, in early August 2010. The arrest is just one of the steps in a long, consistent and protracted fight to maintain Indonesia’s secular, democratic and republican credentials.

Converging interests between India and South Korea is leading them to position themselves to work closely in the emerging Asian security architecture.

Creating levers of influence and pursuing a pro-active engagement with Bhutan’s decision-makers is the most effective way of shaping political will to engage the Bhutanese establishment over the issue of refugee repatriation.

Indian decision makers played down the problems in the India-China relationship for the past decade in the expectation that deepening engagement would influence attitudes at the top level in China and thereby enable hardened positions to soften.

There is a need to appreciate the medical, social and ethical consequences and liabilities of the use of non-lethal weapons before putting them to use.

Whilst war is not likely in the foreseeable future, the likelihood of its occurrence further down the line has increased in the light of Admiral Mullen’s statement.

The coexistence of contending realities in Kashmir is a natural corollary of the transition from conflict to peace. A successful transition to peace is not only a test of Indian secularism, but also of Indian democracy.

The new Nalanda University now being planned to be rebuilt will soon provide momentum to the systematic study of Buddhism in India of various shades and nuances.

The various diplomatic rows and even the border problem are symptoms of the larger problems that exist between India and China – the competition for status, influence and power.