Sameer Lalwani: All Publications, Events and Press

Obama’s Task: Reprioritizing U.S. Foreign Policy

Articles — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:14:00 -0500

While the battered state of the economy in the days winding down to the presidential election determined the fortunes of Senator Barack Obama in his victory over Senator John McCain, it was arguably his pragmatic foreign policy vision that helped him edge out the heavily favored Senator Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary. As Obama assumes the presidency in January, he will need to tap into that pragmatic foreign policy vision, trading hubris for modesty, by operating with a principle of what grand strategist Barry Posen… more

Obama’s Foreign Policy Toward South Asia: Some Suggestions

Articles — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:54:00 -0400

Should an Obama-Biden administration take office in January 2009, their top foreign policy priority will have to focus on the situation in Iraq, which has consumed U.S. lives, treasure, military readiness, and credibility. They will also need to address the derivative strategic dilemmas that have both resulted from and compounded the situation in Iraq, including a resurgent Iran, a reconstituted al-Qaeda, and an Arab-Israeli peace process unraveling by the hour. But though the U.S. might seem consumed with the strategic quagmire in the Middle East, it would… more

Why We’d Miss Musharraf

Articles — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 12:18:00 -0400

These are rough days for Pervez Musharraf. Pakistan’s president is beset on all sides by critical U.S. politicians and pundits, a hostile judicial establishment, a resurgent al Qaeda, and an increasingly militant religious extremist wing. Smelling weakness, two ambitious former prime ministers, Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, are plotting their triumphant returns from exile. Musharraf may finally be running out of options. Speculation is rampant that he may soon have no choice but to take off his military uniform and… more

The War on Poppies

Articles — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 02:41:00 -0400

Stepping onto the balcony of the governor’s mansion in Uruzgan in southern Afghanistan, you quickly grasp the scale of the drug problem gripping the country. Beginning at the walls of the mansion and stretching as far as the eye can see are hundreds of acres of poppy fields ready for harvesting for opium sap, pretty much the only way to earn a living in poverty-stricken Uruzgan.

In late April, at the height of poppy-growing season, a team of more than 200… more

Reframing the Arab Reform Agenda

Articles — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 14:40:00 -0400

A growing strain of opinion suggests the reform project in the Arab world is dead and consequently the United States should revive democracy promotion in the Middle East. Whether attributed to the rise in oil prices, the outbreak of sectarianism, or America’s lackluster performance in Iraq, the requiem for Arab reform may be premature.

Modernization of both Arab culture and the Arab state began long before US engagement after 9/11 and it continues today independent of the "West." And most Middle… more