http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/trudy_rubin RSS Feed for Inq Col Trudy Rubin en-us Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:21:17 GMT http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/trudy_rubin/20091108_Worldview__Afghan_women_need_help_to_sustain_their_fragile_gains.html HERAT, Afghanistan - I came to this city of clean, tree-lined streets, near the Iranian border, to write about Afghan women. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/trudy_rubin/20091104_Worldview__We_need_a_Karzai_strategy.html KABUL, Afghanistan - The reelection of President Hamid Karzai creates new headaches for the Obama administration. But it also presents opportunities to be seized. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/trudy_rubin/20091101_Worldview__Must-have_elements_in_AfPak_strategy.html I'm headed back to Afghanistan and Pakistan at a critical juncture, which will shape Obama's foreign-policy legacy. The president will have to roll out his AfPak strategy very soon and explain it to the American public. His long review has fed the perception in South Asia that the United States is heading for the exit, which adds to the Taliban's momentum. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/trudy_rubin/20091028_Worldview__When_Kerry_met_Karzai.html Whatever Afghanistan strategy President Obama chooses will hinge on whether U.S. officials can work with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. U.S. frustration at Karzai's failure to rein in corruption, which feeds Taliban gains, has been building. It peaked over the blatant rigging of the presidential election in August. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/trudy_rubin/20091018_Worldview__Taliban_remains_a_potent_threat.html How can the American public be expected to support a new policy for Afghanistan when they don't know why we're there? http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/trudy_rubin/20091014_Worldview__That_Karzai_conundrum.html Sometime this week, we may learn who the president of Afghanistan is. Or we may not. Imagine: As President Obama wrestles with whether to send more troops to fight the Afghan Taliban, it's still unclear whether the sitting president, Hamid Karzai, won the majority required to avoid a runoff. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/trudy_rubin/20091011_Worldview__Peace_prize_no_favor_to_a_harried_Obama.html The Norwegian Nobel committee has done President Obama no favor by awarding him the 2009 Peace Prize. The committee bestowed the prize for Obama's intentions, not his achievements, since nominations were closed right after he took office. Committee members wanted to build support for his efforts to promote "a new climate in international politics." http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/trudy_rubin/20091007_Worldview__Sympathy_for_the_general.html I feel sorry for Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal. The top commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan is in hot water. Last week, he rejected the idea of scaling down U.S. troop levels and fighting al-Qaeda there with drones and missiles. Such a strategy shift - which some in the administration are advancing - would be "shortsighted," he said. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/trudy_rubin/20091004_Worldview__U_S__must_strengthen_relations_with_Pakistan.html The debate over Afghan strategy - the Af in our AfPak policy - has overshadowed an equally daunting challenge: Can we figure out how to improve relations with Pakistan? http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/trudy_rubin/20091001_Worldview__The_West_s_leverage_in_Iran.html The United States and five other major powers will begin direct talks with Iran today in Geneva, but the agenda still isn't settled. The West wants to home in on Iran's nuclear enrichment program. The media are abuzz with new revelations about a secret Iranian nuclear plant and Iran's missile tests last weekend.