NPR‘s Corey Flintoff: President Obama has drawn an official end to U.S. combat operations in Iraq, but challenges lie ahead in a country that faces persistent insurgent violence and political turmoil.
In a prime-time address Tuesday night, the president called on the American people to put the energies that were devoted to Iraq into the widening fight in Afghanistan and the need to rebuild the U.S. economy.
But Obama also foreshadowed what analysts say will be a difficult and dangerous job of training Iraqi forces to maintain their own country’s security. And he reminded Iraqi leaders that the U.S. commitment to Iraq will continue, but that they must stop factional bickering and form a government.
Area of dispute in Kashmir (courtesy of New York Times)
BANDIPORE, Kashmir — The new battle between India and Pakistan comes not from ethnic violence, but from water flowing down from beautiful mountain glaciers in the high Himalayan valley in the Indian-controlled side of Kashmir, to farmers’ fields in Pakistan’s agricultural heartland. I can say without a doubt that this is a constant topic of “water-cooler” type conversation among the academic as well as the common community. Indian workers in Kashmir are racing to build an expensive hydroelectric dam in a remote valley near here – one of many India plans to build over the next ten years to feed its rapidly growing economy. But are they illegal?
Lydia Polgreen of the New York Times reports that in Pakistan, the project raises fears that India, its upriver nation, would have the power to manipulate the water flowing to its agriculture industry which is a quarter of its already poor economy and employs half its population. But how can they stop it?Water has become a growing source of tension in many parts of the world between nations striving for growth (also know as transboundary water conflicts). Across the Himalayas, China’s own dam projects have piqued India, a rival for regional, and even global, power.
But the fight here adds a new segment of volatility to one of the most disrespected relationships anywhere, – one between nuclear-armed nations who have already fought three wars.
With their populations rapidly expanding, water is critical to both nations. According to water experts, Pakistan contains the world’s largest contiguous irrigation system. The rivers that traverse Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province and the heart of its agriculture industry are the country’s lifeline, and the dispute over their use goes to the heart of its fears about India.
For India, the hydroelectric projects are vital to securing Himalayan water to fill in the serious energy shortfalls that hurt its economy. Surprisingly, despite being a growing economic power, about 40 percent of India’s population is off the power grid, and lack of electricity which hampers industry. For example, as I sit here today in Ahmedabad, the sixth largest city in India, the power grid is stable for the most, part but does go out in vital parts of the day affecting everyone from doctors in hospitals to the minister of Gujarat. The Kishenganga project in Kashmir is a crucial part of India’s plans to alleviate issues such as these.
Public Media Texas is based in Austin. We embrace our local presence in Austin with our hyper-local East Austin site 78702.org. We contribute to the discussion of the environment in the Southwest and the state of politics in Texas. We also seek to understand the dynamic between the U.S. and Mexico along our shared border. Along the way we search for artistic expressions that reflect and provide more perspective on the Lone Star state.
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