THE ISLAMIST MOVEMENT IN THE MALDIVES:  THE GROWING INFLUENCE OF THE ISLAMISTS IN MALDIVIAN SOCIETY & POLITICS -- ACCEPTANCE OF THE THE CURRENT PRESIDENT BASED ON HOW UNWILLING HE IS TO TACKLE ISLAMISM HEAD-ON, OR PERHAPS EVEN IN ANY FASHION -- THE HIGH PROBABILITY OF AN ISLAMIST PRESIDENT AFTER NEXT YEAR'S ELECTIONS -- THE FUTURE OF THE MALDIVIAN GOVERNMENT & POLITICAL SYSTEM:  CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY, OR AUTHORITARIAN DICTATORSHIP? PROTECTION OF THE BASIC RIGHTS & LIBERTIES OF THE INDIVIDUAL CITIZEN, OR UNLIMITED POLITICAL & ECONOMIC POWER IN THE HANDS OF THE ISLAMISTS?

AFGHANISTAN & U.S. FOREIGN & NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY:  CAN THE U.S.A. & THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION BE EXPECTED TO HAVE A GREATER DEGREE OF SUCCESS IN AFGHANISTAN THAN PREVIOUS EXTERNAL ENTITIES INVADING THE COUNTRY & TRYING TO EXERCISE POLITICAL INFLUENCE & CONTROL THEREIN?  WILL AMERICA & NATO HAVE ANY MORE SUCCESS IN AFGHANISTAN THAN DID ALEXANDER THE GREAT IN 329 BC, GENGHIS KHAN'S MONGOL ARMY IN 1221 BC, OR THE BRITISH EMPIRE IN 1839-1842 AD?

THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION & U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY & FOREIGN POLICY IN AFGHANISTAN:  PRESIDENT OBAMA'S PLAN TO COMBAT AFGHANISTAN'S ESCALATING INSURGENCY, EMPOWER ITS GOVERNMENT, ENCOURAGE A POLITICAL RESOLUTION OF THE CONFLICT & SECURE THE COOPERATION OF NEIGHBORING PAKISTAN, ALL IN TIME FOR U.S. TROOPS TO WITHDRAW BY THE END OF 2014 -- WHAT THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION MUST DO, IF IT REALLY WANTS TO SUCCEED IN AFGHANISTAN & PREVENT A TALIBAN TAKEOVER OF THE COUNTRY -- THE ISSUE OF AFGHAN SOVEREIGNTY

THE EFFECTS OF WORLD WAR IV ON THE AMERICAN NATION:  A NEW KIND OF ENEMY & MAJOR CHANGES IN U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY -- RESTRUCTURING THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TO ENABLE IT TO EFFECTIVELY COPE WITH THE ISLAMIST JIHAD BEING WAGED AGAINST THE U.S.A. & WESTERN CIVILIZATION -- THE U.S.A. WITH NEW COALITIONS & NEW PARTNERS IN THE ARENA OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICS -- U.S. MILITARY FORCES EVOLVING TO DEAL WITH THE CHANGED GEOPOLITICAL SITUATION IN THE WORLD AT LARGE -- THE 9/11 ATTACKS, TRANFORMATION OF THE U.S.A., & THE FUTURE DIRECTION OF U.S. FOREIGN & NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY

HIGH-TECH, HIGH-YIELD FARMING IN CONTEMPORARY INDIA:  USE OF BIOTECH COTTON SEEDS THAT CARRY THEIR OWN INTERNAL PESTICIDE, RESULTING IN A SUBSTANTIAL REDUCTION IN PESTICIDE SPRAYING, THE AVOIDANCE OF SEVERAL MILLION CASES OF PESTICIDE POISONING PER YEAR, & SLASHING THE TOLL FROM FARMER SUICIDES VIA PESTICIDE POISONING, PERHAPS BY A MILLION DEATHS A YEAR -- WILL THE BENEFITS OF FEWER CROP SPRAYINGS, LOWER COSTS, HIGHER YIELDS, MORE FINANCIAL SECURITY, & REDUCED MISERY THAT LEADS TO SUICIDE FINALLY SOFTEN THE HEARTS OF IDEOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTALISTS & ANTI-TECHNOLOGY ACTIVISTS?

THE ROLE OF JANUS-FACED PAKISTAN IN THE ISLAMIST JIHAD AGAINST AMERICA & THE WEST:  HOW & WHY PAKISTAN'S SECURITY & INTELLIGENCE ESTABLISHMENT PROVIDES AID & PROTECTION TO ISLAMIST TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS AL-QA'IDA & THE TALIBAN -- GENERAL AWARENESS AMONG PAKISTANIS THAT THE ISI WAS PROVIDING OSAMA BIN LADEN HAVEN & PROTECTION WITHIN THE BORDERS OF PAKISTAN -- PAKISTAN'S UNRELIABILITY AS AN ALLY OF THE WEST IN THE WAR AGAINST ISLAMISM

U.S. FOREIGN & NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY, AS IT RELATES TO PAKISTAN & ITS PRO-ISLAMIST GOVERNMENT:   WHAT SHOULD THE U.S. GOVERNMENT DO ABOUT THE CRISIS IN U.S.-PAKISTAN RELATIONS?  GIVE UP ON THE PRETENCE THAT THE TWO COUNTRIES ARE ALLIES & TREAT PAKISTAN (WITH ITS MANY MADRASSAHS, ITS ISLAMIST MILITARY LEADERSHIP, & ITS ROGUE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE) AS A DANGER ZONE.  ADOPT A POLICY OF CONTAINMENT OF THE ISLAMISM COMING OUT OF PAKISTAN, REWARDING COOPERATION & PUNISHING HOSTILE ACTS.  DEVELOP AMERICA'S FLEXIBILITY TO COLLABORATE OR CONFRONT, AS CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES WARRANT.

INDIAN FOREIGN & REGIONAL SECURITY POLICY IN CENTRAL & SOUTH ASIA:  INDIA'S STRATEGIC GOALS, AS REGARDS AFGHANISTAN & PAKISTAN:  CONTAINMENT OF ISLAMIST EXTREMISM -- USE OF AFGHANISTAN AS A GATEWAY TO THE ENERGY-RICH & STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT CENTRAL ASIAN REGION -- ASSERTION OF INDIA'S REGIONAL PREEMINENCE IN CENTRAL & SOUTH ASIA -- THE MOST IMPORTANT GOAL FOR THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT:  PREVENTION OF PAKISTAN FROM REGAINING ITS CENTRAL ROLE IN AFGHAN AFFAIRS -- WHY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT SHOULD TAKE INDIAN CONCERNS INTO ACCOUNT, AS THE AFGHAN ENDGAME LOOMS LARGER

WAZIRISTAN, AFGHANISTAN, & PAKISTAN:  WAZIRISTAN AS A DANGEROUS & UNPREDICTABLE REGION WITH THE POTENTIAL TO UNHINGE PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI'S FRAGILE REGIME IN AFGHANISTAN, THREATEN THE PAKISTANI GOVERNMENT, & POSE A MAJOR CHALLENGE TO REGIONAL STABILITY -- HELPING POLICYMAKERS UNDERSTAND & ADDRESS PRESENT-DAY PROBLEMS IN THE WIZIRISTAN REGION -- PERTINENT LESSONS TO BE DERIVED FROM THE BRITISH EMPIRE'S EXPERIENCE IN THE REGION DURING THE NINETEENTH & EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURIES

THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION & THE WEAKNESS OF ITS FOREIGN POLICY IN THE MIDDLE EAST & SOUTH CENTRAL ASIA:  THE TALIBAN'S MARCH TO BUNER & THE U.S. RESPONSE -- OBAMA'S PERCEPTION OF THE UNDERLYING PROBLEM IN PAKISTAN AS LACK OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES & THE NEED FOR AID & DEVELOPMENT -- SEEKING TO NEGOTIATE WITH & ACCOMODATE THE TALIBAN -- USE OF "SMART POWER," RATHER THAN "HARD POWER" -- DIPLOMACY AS THE VANGUARD OF U.S. FOREIGN POLICY -- WHAT THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION IS OVERLOOKING, AS REGARDS THE TALIBAN INSURGENCY IN PAKISTAN:  THE NATURE OF THE DANGER POSED BY EXTREMIST IDEOLOGY, ESPECIALLY WHEN COMBINED WITH DIPLOMACY ALLOWING ISLAMISTS TO ESTABLISH SAFE HAVENS FOR THEMSELVES -- WHAT PRESIDENT OBAMA & SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON NEED TO UNDERSTAND:  SOFT POWER, AID & DEVELOPMENT, NEGOTIATION, & ACCOMODATION ARE ABOUT AS EFFECTIVE AT COUNTERING ISLAMISM AS LOLLIPOPS ARE AT CURING CANCER.

THE FOURTH WORLD WAR:  THE ISLAMIST MOVEMENT CONTINUES ITS GLOBAL JIHAD AGAINST THE WEST & THE REST OF THE NON-MUSLIM WORLD.  THE ISLAMISTS THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST & SOUTH ASIA THREATEN TO TAKE OVER PAKISTAN & AFGHANISTAN.  THE WAR IS BEING WAGED BY FANATICAL ISLAMIC EXTREMISTS WHO BELIEVE THAT ALLAH DEMANDS AN ISLAMIC JIHAD AGAINST THE NON-MUSLIM WORLD, & THEY ARE PREPARED TO SPEND AS MUCH TIME & EFFORT AS NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE VICTORY.  THE TALIBAN & AL-QA'IDA SENSE SERIOUS WEAKNESS IN THE LEADERSHIP OF U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA, & ARE DETERMINED TO EXPLOIT THAT WEAKNESS.

AS AFGHANISTAN'S STABILITY HAS BECOME A U.S. STRATEGIC CONCERN, PREVENTING TENSIONS BETWEEN PAKISTAN & IRAN FROM AGAIN TRANSFORMING AFGHANISTAN INTO A PROXY BATTLEFIELD SHOULD BE AN IMPORTANT U.S. NATIONAL INTEREST.  BUT, SO LONG AS THE IRANIAN & PAKISTANI GOVERNMENTS REMAIN CONCERNED WITH THE DEFENSE OF SHI'I & SUNNI SECTARIAN INTERESTS RESPECTIVELY, U.S. & NATO FORCES IN AFGHANISTAN MAY NOT BE ABLE TO BRING STABILITY, BUT, AT BEST, MAY REMAIN REFEREES IN A STRUGGLE THAT EXTENDS FAR BEYOND THAT COUNTRY'S BORDERS.

THE ISLAMIST TERROR WAR IN INDIA:  THE SAVAGE & PREDATORY JIHADI TERRORISM IN MUMBAI AIMED AT REASSERTING OR TIGHTENING JIHADI CONTROL OVER NON-MUSLIM REGIONS OF INDIA -- JIHADI TERRORISM AS A WIDESPREAD & SYSTEMATIC ASSAULT ON INDIAN SOCIETY -- JIHADI TERRORISM AS AN INTRINSIC PART OF ISLAM -- FAILURE OF THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS PARTY LEADERSHIP, THE MEDIA, THE JUDICIARY, THE POLICE, THE BUREAUCRACY, & ALIENATED INDIAN INTELLECTUALS TO CONDEMN & EFFECTIVELY OPPOSE THE JIHADI TERRORIST MOVEMENT & ITS ACTIVITIES

IRAN, THE U.S.A., & THE SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST & CENTRAL ASIA:  NEITHER THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION NOR THE COMING OBAMA PRESIDENCY APPEARS WILLING TO TAKE THE MEASURES NECESSARY TO DETER OR CONTAIN A NUCLEAR IRAN.  THE NATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN WASHINGTON, D.C. IS SIGNALING THAT THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC HAS A GREEN LIGHT TO CLAIM REGIONAL DOMINANCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST & CENTRAL ASIA. & TO CARRY OUT ITS THREATS TO ANNIHILATE ISRAEL.  WASHINGTON IS ALSO SIGNALING TO U.S. ALLIES IN THE REGION THAT THEY ARE ON THEIR OWN & THAT THE U.S. COMMITMENT TO PROTECT THEM IS EMPTY.

U.S. MILITARY INVOLVEMENT IN AFGHANISTAN:  SHOULD THE U.S.A. WITHDRAW ITS TROOPS FROM AFGHANISTAN OR EXPAND THE U.S. MILITARY PRESENCE THERE?  A DECISION THAT MUST BE MADE BY THE NEXT U.S. PRESIDENT

AMERICA, INDIA, & IRAN:  INDIA CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE BETWEEN THE U.S.A. & THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN -- THE ESCALATING U.S.-IRANIAN DISPUTE, THE GROWING U.S.-INDIAN STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP, & THE INDO-IRANIAN RAPPROCHEMENT -- INDIA'S DRIVE FOR ENERGY SECURITY & ITS PETROLEUM IMPORTS FROM IRAN -- THE IMPACT OF THE ENERGY SECURITY DRIVE ON INDIAN POLICY TOWARD A NUCLEAR IRAN -- THE IMPACT OF U.S. PRESSURE ON THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT

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