Military means are at the center of current counterterrorism efforts. This article argues that the focus on military means is a mistaken one. Military interventions as well as presence in occupied countries rather contribute to an increase in terrorism. On the other hand, economic causes of terrorism remain under-addressed. A more effective counterterrorism policy would include increased financial and economic foreign aid.
A conflict over corruption threatens to bring down the government in Pakistan as the Supreme Court and the executive are in a standoff. Last week the court indicted Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on contempt charges for failing to revive corruption charges against his boss, President Asif Ali Zardari. The Pakistani military seems only too pleased to see the judiciary undercutting one of its principle political opponents.
