Pakistan's involvement in Afghanistan was unfortunately never a fully public policy and in fact was determined by that branch of government which is by definition least open to public scrutiny: the ISI.
Putin's pro-American plan was not simply tactical. Putin's policies of support after September 11, including his agreement to an American military presence in Central Asia, represented a significant shift in Russian foreign policy. The potential for breakthrough - for a fundamentally new and improved relationship between Russia and the West - has never been greater.
It is important to have partners in the war on terrorism, Carnegie's Robert Kagan writes, but a unilateral determination to act invariably precedes a policy of effective multilateralism.
A strong sense of righteousness has always been present in the American tradition, but until September 11, an acute sense of persecution by the outside world was usually the preserve of the paranoid Right. Now it has spread and some rather important ideas have almost vanished from the public debate.
Can the United States win a war on terrorism while winking at some terrorists and cozying up to nations that support them? Can the United States effectively fight terrorism and reward terrorism at the same time? You shouldn't have to ponder those questions very long. The certain answer is no.
With U.S. backing, Commander Abdul Haq is now emerging as perhaps the most important leader of anti-Taliban opposition among Afghans of Pashtun nationality based in Pakistan.