Brookings Press Blog

Akbar Ahmed to Star in One Man Show: “Waziristan to Washington: A Muslim at the Crossroads”

Akbar Ahmed, one of the word's leading authorities on Islam, will perform an original play based on his life on Sunday, November 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Washington, D.C. “Waziristan to Washington: A Muslim at the Crossroads” takes us back to his birthplace and traces the evolution of modern Pakistan, the rise of Islamic extremism, efforts to achieve integration in the modern world, and attempts to build bridges through dialogue.

This multi-media production marks the formal launch of the Wana Initiative on Conflict and Cultural Dialogue. It will be hosted by the Washington Hebrew Congregation and is cosponsored by the Washington DCJCC. The event is free and open to the public; registration is required.

- Register for the performance
- Learn more about “Waziristan to Washington”
- Read about Akbar Ahmed’s previous book, Journey into Islam

"Limits of Influence" Receives Award

The American Academy of Diplomacy has awarded the 2009 Douglas Dillon Award for Distinguished Writing on American Diplomacy to Ambassador Howard B. Schaffer for his book, The Limits of Influence: America’s Role in Kashmir. The Limits of Influence represents the first systematic history of U.S. efforts to help forge a settlement between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. Drawing on interviews with senior American officials, historical research, and his decades of experience in South Asia, Schaffer explains and evaluates three generations of U.S. activities and policies toward the volatile region. The award will be presented at the Academy’s annual awards luncheon at the U.S. Department of State in December 2009.

Previous Dillon Book Award winners from Brookings include Going Critical: The First North Korean Nuclear Crisis, by Joel Wit, Daniel Poneman, and Robert Gallucci (2005) and Massive Entanglement, Marginal Influence: Carter and Korea in Crisis by William J. Gleysteen, Jr. (2000).

Ambassador Howard B. Schaffer to Speak on the U.S. and India

On Wednesday, October 14, Howard B. Schaffer, author of The Limits of Influence: America’s Role in Kashmir, and his wife Ambassador Teresita C. Schaffer, author of India and the United States in the 21st Century: Reinventing Partnership, will be the featured guests at a reception and book signing cosponsored by the Asia Society and the Women’s National Democratic Club in Washington, D.C. They will also participate in a discussion of “The US and India: Deepening Ties, Resolving Issues” moderated by Jack Garrity, executive director of the Asia Society Washington.

Ambassador Howard B. Schaffer is a retired U.S. Foreign Service officer who spent   much of his 36-year career dealing with U.S. relations with South Asia. He served as Ambassador to Bangladesh (1984-87) and Political Counselor in India (1977-79) and Pakistan (1974-77), and he was twice Deputy Assistant Secretary of State responsible for South Asian affairs. He became Director of Studies at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Georgetown University in 1995. Ambassador Teresita C. Schaffer has been with Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) since 1998 after a 30-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service. She devoted most of her career to international economic issues and to South Asia, serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia (1989-92), U.S. ambassador to Sri Lanka (1992-95), and Director of the Foreign Service Institute (1995-97).

- Register for the event.

- Learn more about The Limits of Influence.

Will Pakistan cave in?

Bruce Riedel investigates the historical and current frameworks of the jihadist movement in Pakistan

National Interest editor, Justine Rosenthal, interviews Bruce Riedel

Who knows what the future may hold? As Pakistan breeds instability within many socio-political dimensions, a jihadist takeover of the nation might sprout the most fatal threat to security in the Middle East and for the United States. Bruce Riedel examines the possibility of the invasion of the Taliban, al Qaeda, and other terrorist factions in one of the Middle East’s most vulnerable states. In a National Interest article, Riedel traces the history of the Pakistani dilemma and links it to current developments.

Will Pakistan be the beginning of the end of terrorism in the Middle East? In his insightful analysis, Riedel says, “Pakistan is a complex and combustible society undergoing a severe crisis. America helped create that crisis over a long period of time. If we don’t help Pakistan now, we may have to deal with a jihadist Pakistan later. That should focus our attention.”

- Learn more about Riedel's latest book book, The Search for al Qaeda

- Read “Armageddon in Islamabad” by Bruce Riedel in National Interest

- Watch National Interest editor, Justine Rosenthal, interview Riedel

How the Kashmir Dispute Affects Security in South Asia

Author Howard B. Schaffer reveals the limits of American influence in the Kashmir region

The escalating dispute in the Kashmir region proves a threat to security in South-Asia and to the United States. In an interview with the Council on Foreign Relations, former ambassador to Bangladesh and author of The Limits of Influence: America's Role in Kashmir, Howard Shaffer discloses the growing dangers of the conflict between India and Pakistan, warning that the dispute may instigate the emergence of a potential nuclear war. He urges independent settlement in both areas to promote India-Pakistan relations.

As for Washington’s influence, Schaffer states, "If Washington does find a propitious opportunity to play a more active role, the settlement it promotes should call for making the Line of Control a permanent border that is porous; autonomy for Kashmiris on both sides; and joint institutions on an all-Kashmir basis."

Howard B. Schaffer has spent thirty-six years as an officer of the U.S Foreign Service, through which he was appointed ambassador to Bangladesh. Ambassador Schaffer currently teaches and writes at Georgetown University and widely recognized as a leading American specialist on South Asia. He is the author of highly regarded biographies of two American diplomats who served as ambassadors to India at times when Washington was deeply involved in efforts to resolve the Kashmir dispute. They were published as Chester Bowles: New Dealer in the Cold War (Harvard University Press, 1993) and Ellsworth Bunker: Global Troubleshooter, Vietnam Hawk (University of North Carolina Press, 2003). Schaffer is also the author of many articles on South Asian matters.

- Learn more about The Limits of Influence

- Read the complete interview with the Council on Foreign Relations