How important is Iran in addressing the problem emanating from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border?
It’s a question of choices. The Bush administration chose not to engage Iran. That was a strange choice considering that Iran played a positive role during the Bonn Process (that laid the foundation for rebuilding Afghanistan after the Taliban [Images] was ousted). What it got in return was inclusion in the “Axis of Evil.” A word on the recent RAND report on India’s handling of the Mumbai terror attacks [Images]. The report identifies that India’s police have been very neglected in terms of training and equipment. Some of these police forces are deeply corrupt. India, like many countries, has problems communicating intelligence reports to the local police. The US has the same problem in terms of how the CIA communicates with the FBI and the FBI with police departments. The difference is that America’s neighbour is not a haven for terrorist organisations that can attack the US. The salience of the problem for India is much greater considering the neighbourhood it lives in. The RAND repo
