Marvin Weinbaum

New York Times reporter Declan Walsh in Islamabad and Marvin Weinbaum, who served as analyst for Pakistan and Afghanistan in the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research from 1999 to 2003, examines the current political crisis in Pakistan. Weinbaum is currently a scholar-in-residence at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.

The State Department remains tight-lipped on the role of the American man recently arrested in Pakistan for murder. The man in question, Raymond Davis, was suspected of being a spy. The Obama administration claimed that Davis had diplomatic immunity and should be set free from Pakistani custody. Last Friday, P.J. Crowley, State Department Spokesman would only say to The Takeaway that Davis is a U.S. Diplomat entitled to diplomatic immunity. You can hear that interview here. But reports out yesterday confirm that Davis was working in a part of a C.I.A. team, as an independent contractor. Either way, what does the case of Raymond Davis mean for the U.S. Pakistan relationship? 

On October 7th, 2001, less than a month after the attacks of September 11, American and British forces entered Afghanistan seeking to disrupt terrorist activities and capture members of al-Qaida. Nine years later we look back and reflect on one of the longest armed conflicts the U.S. has ever seen. Gideon Rose, editor of Foreign Affairs joins us for the hour.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is in Washington today for a week of meetings with President Obama and other high-level U.S. officials. The tenor of this visit is vastly different from the last time the two leaders met when Obama flew to Kabul in late March to lecture Karzai on corruption in Afghanistan. 

• PAKISTAN TAKEOUT: Three US servicemen have been killled in Pakistan - a country whose citizens really don't want a US precense at all. Middle East Institute scholar Marvin Weinbaum joins us for analysis.
• RESPONSES TAKEOUT: Listeners weigh in on segments from Galveston, Texas, Super Bowl foods and Don't Ask Don't Tell

On Wednesday, a suicide bomber killed eight American civilians in Afghanistan, according to U.S. officials. The incident happened at Forward Operating Base Chapman, which is located i...

Attitudes towards Americans and American diplomats in Pakistan have become so hostile they border on harassment, according to a new report from The New York Times.  From refusing to a...

President Obama has rejected four options for upping troop levels in Afghanistan. A decision on how many troops to send to the war-torn nation had been expected after the president me...

Militants linked to the Taliban launched a bold attack on Pakistan’s army headquarters this weekend. The Pakistan army took back the building, but at least 41 people were killed. The ...

This week will mark the eight-year anniversary of the war in Afghanistan, and the casualty rate is ticking upward. The United States lost eight troops in eastern Afghanistan on Saturd...

Five U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan over the weekend. As President Obama weighs the next steps for U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, top members of his party are making their p...

In Pakistan, local and state authorities were challenged by a spate of attacks over the weekend. NATO oil tankers were set ablaze along the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and a s...