Lawyer, political activist, philanthropist, professor, and now, at the tender age of 29, a civil judge. Ali Ashtar Naqvi will give us his views and answers to problems of Pakistan and the troubled relationship with the United States.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011, 1:00 pm
First Church in Cambridge • Hastings Room • 11 Garden St • Harvard Sq T • Cambridge

A light lunch will be served – donation $5 requested.
Sponsored by UJP Afghanistan/Pakistan Task Force. Please RSVP to info@msspeaceaction.org or call 617-354-2169.

by Jean Athey – Foreign Policy Forum

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is barnstorming the country to make the case for high defense spending. He recently said, “As we make the tough choices needed to put this country’s finances in order . . . there will undoubtedly be calls . . . for us to sharply reduce our international commitments and the size and capabilities of our military,” which Gates thinks would be a very bad idea. He suggests that any cuts to the military budget should be based on a strategic review, in which we decide what it is we want to do and thus how large and how expensive a military we need.

Yes—let’s have a strategic review, an honest one, conducted in public and not given to obfuscation, a public debate in which we as a nation decide, clearly and unambiguously, what we want our international role to be and the trade-offs we are willing to accept for that role.
Read the rest of this entry »