Seema Sirohi
Read biographySeema Sirohi is a foreign policy analyst currently based in Washington. She has worked for The Telegraph (Calcutta), Outlook and Ananda Bazar Patrika in the past, reporting from Geneva, Rome, Bratislava, Belgrade, Paris, Islamabad and Washington on a range of issues. Author of Sita’s Curse: Stories of Dowry Victims, she has been a commentator on BBC, CNN and NPR.
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Left out in the cold, India needs its own plan in Afghanistan
Washington: The impending departure of US troops from Afghanistan and Pakistan’s emerging role in its old “playground” has given India a massive strategic headache. No easy remedy is on the shelf. On one hand is Afghan President Hamid Karzai desperately trying to secure his legacy and maximise his advantage and on #Afghanistan #Hamid Karzai #HowThisWorks #India #Pakistan #United States
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Indian Americans ring in Obama inauguration, signal big plans
Washington: It was yet another desi stamp on the American firmament — the first ever presidential inaugural ball organised by Indian Americans to welcome Barack Obama's second coming and loudly register the community’s presence. The Indiaspora 2013 last weekend was a success, no doubt, complete with just the right mixture of #Barack Obama #Indiaspora 2013 #OnOurMind #US Presidential inauguration
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LoC violation: Why the US wants India and Pakistan to cool it
Washington: Are there reasons beyond the local for the recent exchange of fire along the Line of Control on the India-Pakistan border that revealed the brutality that sometimes creeps in maintaining the ceasefire? Some in India believe that the Pakistan army is flexing its muscles with India thanks to a renewed #Afghanistan #Barack Obama #ConnectTheDots #India #LoC violation #Pakistan #United States
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New Year resolutions for Sonia, Manmohan and Opposition
Washington: As we end another annus horribilis, here is a suggestive list of resolutions for prime actors to adopt to make 2013 the annus mirabilis for India. Sonia Gandhi: I will come down from my throne and actually answer questions. As the president of the main political party of India, I recognise #FastForward2013 #New Year Resolutions #Opp #PM #Sonia Gandhi
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Why India is reluctant to host Israeli Prez Shimon Peres
Jerusalem: The India-Israel friendship has been flying very well under the radar for years, arguably to the benefit of both sides. But Israel now wants a public acknowledgement of the bond. It would like India to invite President Shimon Peres for a visit to put a seal on the relationship #HowThisWorks #India-Israel #Shimon Peres
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Life in Israel: Caught amidst hostile neighbours, bad options
Golan Heights, Israel Apple orchards and orderly kibbutz seem peaceful amid a lush green landscape barely a few kilometers from the border with Syria. From certain high points Syrian villages are within sight. Israeli commanders warily watch Bashar al-Assad’s forces in mortal combat with the rebels. They observe the brutal civil #Al-Qaeda #Golan Heights #HowThisWorks #Israel #Syria
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Why I don’t feel pained about Kasab’s hanging
Washington DC: I struggle with the idea of the death penalty but I do believe it should be exercised in the rarest of rare cases. In the case of Ajmal Kasab, the Indian government met that threshold after granting the lone surviving terrorist a trial. Kasab was hanged without fanfare #26/11 Mumbai attacks #Ajmal Kasab #Death Penalty #InMyOpinion #Pakistan #Terrorism
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Pak race for tactical nukes adds new poison to the mix
Washington: Pakistan is reportedly racing to acquire a threatening arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons - smaller and more readily usable nukes - which creates instability of another dimension altogether in South Asia. If deployed, these battlefield weapons will raise the stakes for India, while giving Pakistan’s ISI-linked jihadis a nearly #JihadNation #No first use #Nuclear proliferation #Nuclear weapons #Pakistan
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Obama won because his gut instinct was right
Washington: “I got this” will be Barack Obama’s most famous words. It is a phrase he has used to calm his supporters and his team when they thought he wasn’t all there or having a bad day. He certainly got this — a second term and saved himself from that #Barack Obama #InMyOpinion #Mitt Romney #US Elections 2012
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Sandy effect: Will a cocky Obama team pay the price?
Washington: The mighty Sandy hit the American north-east with all the fury of a Frankenstorm, its genes unclear, its evolution possibly a result of innumerable blows man has dealt nature, its statistics being talked of in millennial terms. Sandy also has blown right into the US presidential election, showering a storm-sized #Barack Obama #Hurricane Sandy #Mitt Romney #OnOurMind