How Pakistan has perpetuated the Afghan conflict.
Pakistan 'Condemns Drone Strike' That Killed Haqqani Network Commander
By Bill Roggio, FDD's Long War Journal: “Over the past two years, the U.S. drone campaign appears to have shifted its focus from the tribal agencies of North and South Waziristan to Kurram. The U.S. has launched 13 such attacks inside Pakistan since Dec. 2016.”
By Tim Willasey-Wilsey, The Cipher Brief: “The vast size of the proposed China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has players on all sides struggling to calculate the pros and cons for their own interests. From the benefit of creating new trade routes to the obstacle of the war in Afghanistan, regional leaders and their citizens are assessing whether and how much to get involved in the estimated $62 billion Chinese project.
Asia’s Escalating Missile Race
By Brendan Thomas-Noone, the interpreter: “If the Cold War was one long arms race, the modern era could be accurately described as an arms jog. Countries are defined less by how many nuclear warheads they have, and more by what they can do with them.”
BY KUNWAR KHULDUNE SHAHID
Efforts by Pakistan's government to dissociate itself from charges of sponsoring terrorism have attracted a hostile response from Islamists
By Thomas Joscelyn, FDD's Long War Journal: “It appears that the raid was yet another inghimasi operation involving several jihadists. Inghimasis are generally well-trained guerrilla fighters who are prepared to die in battle. They are different from traditional suicide bombers in that they don’t detonate their explosive belts or vests at the outset of the fight, but instead first battle their enemies with light arms or other weapons. They “immerse” themselves in the battle before killing themselves.”
By Marty Skovlund Jr., Task & Purpose: “The near-term goal is to have 4,000 additional troops ready in time for this year’s spring offensive. In order to achieve this, three commando courses will be running concurrently by the end of January, with a total of 2,500 soldiers in training at once.”