var _NTW_file_metadata = {"listing_topic":"Pakistan","timespan":"","listing_type":"Most Recent Stories","listing_url":"http://www.newstrust.net/topics/pakistan/top_stories","sources_type":"","source_name":"","hdr_story_type":"","min_reviews":3,"title_prefix":"","local_site":null,"site_base_url":"http://www.newstrust.net/"}
var _NTW_stories = [{"rating":"4.0","num_reviews":"2","title":"Obama's Expansion of Af-Pak War \"Has Blown Up in His Face\"","url":"http://www.democracynow.org/2012/1/20/tariq_ali_obamas_expansion_of_af","date":"2012/01/20","id":8524768,"story_type":"News Analysis","quote":"Amid ongoing U.S.-Pakistani tensions and fears of a military coup in Pakistan, we are joined by British-Pakistani political commentator, historian, activist, filmmaker and novelist, Tariq Ali. Ali discusses Pakistan's internal turmoil, as well as Pakistani attitudes toward U.S. foreign policy, the GOP presidential contest, and the prospect of a military strike against Iran. \"[Pakistanis] are basically suffering because Obama, arrogantly, escalated the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan and thought he could get away with it. That has now blown up in his face,\" Ali says. [Rush transcript to come. Check back soon.]","authors":"Tariq Ali","source":{"rating":"4.0","name":"Democracy Now","framebuster":false,"id":"democracy_now","ownership":"ind","type":"tv","is_public":true}},{"rating":"4.4","num_reviews":"3","title":"What's Happening in the Persian Gulf Explained","url":"http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/01/whats-happening-persian-gulf-explained","date":"2012/01/03","id":8496414,"story_type":"Special Report","quote":"The basics: Iran and the United States appear to be heading for a showdown in the Persian Gulf. Amid already-high tensions over Iran's advancing nuclear program, the US has imposed harsh new economic sanctions on the regime in Tehran and begun to move se","authors":"Adam Weinstein, Hamed Aleaziz","source":{"rating":"3.8","name":"Mother Jones","framebuster":false,"id":"mother_jones","ownership":"ind","type":"magazine","is_public":true}},{"rating":"4.0","num_reviews":"1","title":"Can Pakistan step back from the brink?","url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16382174","date":"2012/01/02","id":8494493,"story_type":"News","quote":"","authors":"","source":{"rating":"3.5","name":"BBC News","framebuster":false,"id":"bbc_news","ownership":"ind","type":"tv","is_public":true}},{"rating":"1.3","num_reviews":"0","title":"U.S. Admits Fault in Fatal Bombing that Killed 24 Pakistani Troops","url":"http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/22/us_admits_fault_in_fatal_bombing","date":"2011/12/22","id":8479553,"story_type":"News Report","quote":"The Pentagon has admitted significant responsibility for an attack on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border last month that left 24 Pakistani solders dead. A military investigation found U.S. and Afghan commandos incorrectly determined there were no Pakistani forces in the area before the air strike. U.S. officials then provided inaccurate data to a Pakistani military representative and missed an opportunity to stop the fighting. Pakistan closed its border after the attack, shutting off a supply line to troops in Afghanistan. New York Times reporter Eric Schmitt, who has just returned from Pakistan, says the report details just the latest in a string of incidents that could hurt Pakistani-U.S. ties","authors":"Amy Goodman","source":{"rating":"4.0","name":"Democracy Now","framebuster":false,"id":"democracy_now","ownership":"ind","type":"tv","is_public":true}},{"rating":"3.9","num_reviews":"2","title":"NATO Kills 24 Pakistani Troops in 2-Hour Assault on Pakistani Base, Tensions Flare in Region","url":"http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/28/nato_kills_24_pakistani_troops_in","date":"2011/11/28","id":8438069,"story_type":"News Report","quote":"NATO helicopters and fighter jets attacked two remote Pakistani military outposts on Saturday killing at least 24 Pakistani soldiers. The air strike took place along the Afghanistan border in Pakistan's tribal district of Mohmand. Pakistan has said the attack was unprovoked, but a senior Kabul-based Western official claims NATO and Afghan forces came under fire and responded in self defense. Pakistan responded Saturday by blocking vital supply routes for U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan, and demanded the United States vacate a base used to launch drone attacks. We speak with Glenn Greenwald, constitutional law attorney and political and legal blogger for Salon.com. \u201cWe may never know what happened here. ... But what is clear is that the endless war that the United States has been engaged in since 9/11 does not seem to be in sight of ending. Quite the contrary, it seems to be escalating by the week,\u201d Greenwald says. [Rush transcript to come. Check back soon.]","authors":"Amy Goodman","source":{"rating":"4.0","name":"Democracy Now","framebuster":false,"id":"democracy_now","ownership":"ind","type":"tv","is_public":true}},{"rating":"2.0","num_reviews":"1","title":"Romney's Making the Right Play in Iowa","url":"http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/21/romneys-making-the-right-play-in-iowa/","date":"2011/11/22","id":8426054,"story_type":"Opinion","quote":"Jeff Zeleny\u2019s weekend story about how Mitt Romney\u2019s campaign will exert more rather than less effort in Iowa deserves your attention. It reflects what is perhaps the most important strategic decision that any Republican candidate will make this year. Mr.","authors":"By NATE SILVER","source":{"rating":"3.6","name":"New York Times","framebuster":true,"id":"new_york_times","ownership":"ind","type":"newspaper","is_public":true}},{"rating":"3.7","num_reviews":"6","title":"Fact checking the South Carolina debate","url":"http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/fact-checking-the-south-carolina-debate/2011/11/13/gIQAFKzVIN_blog.html?referrer=newstrust","date":"2011/11/14","id":8409491,"story_type":"Fact Check","quote":"The GOP candidates met for a debate Saturday night sponsored by CBS and the National Journal, with a specific focus on foreign policy and national security. In foreign policy, there is often no right or wrong answer; the results of a policy are often ambiguous and its effectiveness is usually only determined by history. Still, there were a number of statements made by the candidates that were factually challenged, exaggerated or lacking context. Read full article ...","authors":"Glenn Kessler","source":{"rating":"3.6","name":"Washington Post","framebuster":false,"id":"washington_post","ownership":"ind","type":"newspaper","is_public":true}},{"rating":"4.1","num_reviews":"1","title":"U.N. Report Finds Routine Abuse of Afghan Detainees","url":"http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/world/asia/un-report-finds-routine-abuse-of-afghan-detainees.html","date":"2011/10/10","id":8076259,"story_type":null,"quote":"","authors":null,"source":{"rating":"3.6","name":"New York Times","framebuster":true,"id":"new_york_times","ownership":"ind","type":"newspaper","is_public":true}},{"rating":"4.3","num_reviews":"3","title":"10 myths about Afghanistan","url":"http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/27/10-myths-about-afghanistan","date":"2011/09/28","id":7926894,"story_type":"Special Report","quote":"In 1988, the Soviet army left Afghanistan after a concerted campaign by the western-backed mujahideen. But since then, many enduring myths have grown up about the war-torn country. In his new book, Jonathan Steele sorts the fact from the fiction 1. Afghans have always beaten foreign armies, from Alexander the Great to modern times Afghan history is certainly littered with occasions when foreign invaders were humiliated. But there have also been many cases when foreign armies penetrated the country and inflicted major defeats. In 330BC, Alexander the Great marched through the area of central Asia that is now Afghanistan, meeting little opposition. More than a millennium later, the Mongol leader Genghis Khan also brushed resistance aside. Since Afghanistan emerged as a modern state, there have been three wars with Britain. The British invasion of 1839 produced initial victory for the intruders followed by stunning defeat followed by a second victory. In 1878, the British invaded again. ...","authors":"Jonathan Steele","source":{"rating":"3.6","name":"The Guardian","framebuster":false,"id":"the_guardian","ownership":"ind","type":"newspaper","is_public":true}},{"rating":"3.4","num_reviews":"1","title":"Analysis: Pakistan's double-game: treachery or strategy?","url":"http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/28/us-analysis-pakistans-double-game-treach-idUSTRE78R1LI20110928","date":"2011/09/28","id":7935038,"story_type":"News Analysis","quote":"\"Turns out they are disloyal, deceptive and a danger to the United States,\" fumed Republican Representative Ted Poe last week. \"We pay them to hate us. Now we pay them to bomb us. Let's not pay them at all.\"\r\n\r\nFor many in America, Islamabad has been nothing short of perfidious since joining a strategic alliance with Washington 10 years ago: selectively cooperating in the war on extremist violence and taking billions of dollars in aid to do the job, while all the time sheltering and supporting Islamist militant groups that fight NATO troops in Afghanistan.\r\n\r\nPakistan has angrily denied the charges, but if its critics are right, what could the explanation be for such duplicity? What strategic agendas might be hidden behind this puzzling statecraft?","authors":"","source":{"rating":"3.4","name":"Reuters","framebuster":true,"id":"reuters","ownership":"ind","type":"wire","is_public":true}}]