Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Ahmed Rashid, author of "Pakistan on the Brink." Rashid analyzes the dangerous instability in Pakistan. He discusses the failure of civilian and military leadership; the legacy of Cold War thinking in Pakistan's strategic goals especially the focus on the threat from India; and the use of terrorism as an instrument of foreign policy resulting in the rise of domestic terrorism. He then traces the goals of the Obama administration in dealing with the Afghanistan/Pakistan conundrum and its failure of implementation. Factors contributing to this result include the disengagement of the President, the fragmentation of the policy process and the overemphasis on military priorities to the detriment of political goals. Rashid concludes with a discussion of the peace process, and he highlights the need for a careful American withdrawal that makes possible an end to the Afghan civil war and insures stability in both Pakistan and Afghanistan
KEYWORDS: Pakistan, South Asia.