Risks and Opportunities: The Era of Interim Solutions

As the first decade of the 21st century draws to a close, the question marks are more numerous than ever with regard to the stability of western Asia. The United States and its allies in Afghanistan are far from able to describe their efforts there as a success. The ability of Pakistan’s central government to actually govern and preserve the state as a single unit is in doubt, as is its ability to prevent part of its nuclear cache from reaching the hands of Muslim extremists. The danger of know-how and hazardous materials falling into the hands of terrorist organizations currently based in regions beyond the Afghani-Pakistani border is growing.