Nicholas Schmidle: All Publications, Events and Press

Pakistan's Sufis Preach Faith and Ecstasy

Articles — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:13:00 -0500

In the desert swelter of southern Pakistan, the scent of rosewater mixed with a waft of hashish smoke. Drummers pounded away as celebrants swathed in red pushed a camel bedecked with garlands, tinsel and multihued scarfs through the heaving crowd. A man skirted past, grinning and dancing, his face glistening like the golden dome of a shrine nearby. "Mast Qalandar!" he cried. "The ecstasy of Qalandar!"

The Tribal Fallacy

Articles — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:24:00 -0500

Last year, in the town of Dera Ismail Khan, near South Waziristan, a Pakistani friend of mine joined a gang--a "peace force," he called it, but it sounded like a gang to me. The Taliban, flushed from Afghanistan into Pakistan's tribal areas, had begun to spread out of the tribal areas, and to terrorize residents and attack police stations in places like Dera Ismail Khan. Until gangs (or lashkars) like my friend's formed, not even the police dared to stand against the Taliban. Now, just a… more

The Dictator Takes Up His Golf Clubs

Articles — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:40:00 -0400

Near the end of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's resignation speech, the former commando's voice quavered, and it seemed he might break down on-screen. The address, broadcast live, had lasted roughly an hour. During the first part, Musharraf rehashed some of his achievements since seizing power in a coup almost nine years ago. These included resuscitating an economy on the verge of bankruptcy and turning Pakistan into a leading ally in the war on terror. In the middle, he displayed some of his trademark bravado… more

Witness to Musharraf's End

Articles — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:46:00 -0400

This afternoon, not long after Pervez Musharraf announced that he'd had his fill after almost nine years of ruling Pakistan, I wandered across Islamabad, to the headquarters of the Pakistan People's Party. The headquarters, which include a residence and a secretariat, are referred to collectively as the Zardari House, named after Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto's widow. The Zardari House has been the nerve center for the push to oust Musharraf over the past year. The last time I was there, on November 9,… more

New America and Terror Free Tomorrow Study in Washington Times editorial| 'Pakistan's Pendulum Swings'

Communications — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 05:17:00 -0400

New America in the News:

...Any Pakistani government must reckon with the fact that its countrymen prefer negotiation over military action against al Qaeda, the Taliban and other terrorist militants. In a recent study by Terror Free Tomorrow and the New America Foundation, more than half of Pakistanis said the United States was to blame for violence inside the country today, as compared to only 8 percent blaming al Qaeda. This is a perception gap of enormous proportions, and a similarly epic public-diplomacy failure... more

Experts Discuss Results of a New Nationwide Public Opinion Survey of Pakistan before the June 2008 Pakistani By-Elections

Communications — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:14:00 -0400

Washington, DC - Released today at the New America Foundation, results from the latest Terror Free Tomorrow/New America Foundation poll, the third such poll in nine months, shows a dramatic repudiation of Pakistani public support for American policies in the region, and a gain in support for Al Qaeda. Featured speakers at today's New America Foundation event were Ken Ballen, president of the polling organization, Terror Free Tomorrow, Terrorism expert and Schwartz Senior Fellow Peter Bergen, and leading Pakistan analyst, and New America Fellow, Nicholas Schmidle. Leading up to Pakistan's by-elections next week, the report draws three important conclusions:

Pakistanis Strongly Back Negotiations with Al Qaeda and Taliban over Military Action; Public Support for Al Qaeda Gaining Ground.
Nawaz Sharif and His Party Surge in Public Favor; Pakistanis Cannot Afford Flour and Blame their Government for Growing Food Crisis.
Results of a New Nationwide Public Opinion Survey of Pakistan before the June 2008 Pakistani By-Elections

Further information is available online. . .
Read the report released today on the new nationwide public opinion survey of Pakistan: http://www.newamerica.net/files/TFT-Pakistan2008.pdf

Learn more about today's New America Foundation event speakers: Nick Schmidle (bio), Peter Bergen (bio) and Ken Ballen.

Sign up to receive invitations to New America Foundation events: http://www.newamerica.net/join

Visit Terror Free Tomorrow's website: http://www.terrorfreetomorrow.org/

Visit New America Foundation's website: http://www.newamerica.net/issues/keywords/pakistan

Contact: Erin Drankoski, 202-997-8727, Drankoski@newamerica.net

Pakistan’s Dangerous Turn

Communications — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:15:00 -0400

A New America Event
06/20/2008 - 12:15pm

On June 20th the New America Foundation’s American Strategy Program hosted the release of Terror Free Tomorrow’s groundbreaking new surveys of Pakistani public opinion, presented by Terror Free Tomorrow’s President Ken Ballen. New America scholars Peter Bergen and Nicholas Schmidle then provided expert analysis of the data and the detailed the implications of the report for future American policy toward Pakistan and the war in Afghanistan. American Strategy Program Deputy Director Patrick Doherty moderated the discussion. An MP3… more

What High Oil Prices Can Do For a Country

Ron Tang — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 07:43:00 -0400

From the outside, Effat College doesn't seem like a bellwether of change. The all-girls school in Jeddah, a port city on the coast of the Red Sea, is rimmed by unscalable high walls and an empty parking lot, resembling the scene of a freshly departed circus in Middle America. In many ways, the college's exterior illustrates conventional misperceptions -- closed, drab, and unwelcoming -- of modern Saudi Arabia. Perhaps the only thing less inviting is the bold, red lettering at… more

Blogging In Support Of the Saudi Government

Ron Tang — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:09:00 -0400

In the pre-Internet age, Raed al-Saeed would be punching above his weight. Last month, the 33-year-old Saudi posted a six-minute film on his blog that has thrust him into a millennial debate previously waged by only mullahs and popes: Can religion be evil? "My goal was not to make me or my blog famous," said al-Saeed. His intentions were more subtle: "Don't be brainwashed into judging a religion by one video made by someone who hates that religion."… more

Like the Wild, Wild West. Plus Al-Qaeda.

Ron Tang — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:34:00 -0400

Darra Adam Khel, a small burg in Pakistan's tribal areas, is the quintessential frontier town. Picture Wyatt Earp sashaying down the streets of Tombstone in a turban, and you begin to get the idea. Because Pakistani laws don't apply here, smugglers, gunsmiths and, most recently, the Taliban find Darra, as it's locally known, an optimal place to do business.

Most stores along the main road sell firearms or drugs. In one, freshly pressed slabs of hashish are cured in goat skins,… more