Balancing US Interests in India and Pakistan
Convincing the Pakistani military to focus its attention on the Afghan Taliban and associated groups has so far proved unsuccessful. The Obama administration's reliance on economic incentives and regional peace initiatives, such as a dialogue with India on Kashmir, has failed to deliver tangible results. Instead, India's footprint within Afghanistan has expanded, leaving Pakistani elites ever more anxious. Balancing Indian and Pakistani interests in South Asia remains a top priority for Western governments, and most importantly the US. In the current milieu this will require shifting Western bureaucratic focus from the age old and seemingly intractable Kashmir dispute to maintaining the peace within Afghanistan. This article outlines why this shift should be considered, and how the India--Pakistan trust deficit might be bridged.
Geopolitical Dynamics in the Afghanistan–India–Pakistan Triangle
Since the partition of the subcontinent in 1947, the geopolitics of South Asia has been shaped by a dynamic triangular relationship among Afghanistan, India and Pakistan on which depend prospects of peace, governance and stability in the South Asian region. This article examines how and why the Afghanistan–India–Pakistan triangle emerged and how it affects the entire South Asian region as a matter of geopolitics. The article also analyses why major strategic and political shifts occurred in these complex relations after the fall of the Taliban rule in Afghanistan in 2001 and ventures to provide some comments on more recent developments. The evolution and nature of the triangular engagements lie in the overlapping policies of these three countries. Hence, I identify their interactions as constituting a dynamic triangle. This article argues that strategic positioning and concerns and claims for political space have shaped their relationship to such an extent that if something bad happens in one of the three countries, this affects the position of the other two as well. That is why the current re-alignments in Afghanistan have crucial implications for the whole region, not just in terms of their respective foreign policy objectives but also for the long-term harmony, peace, progress and stability in the whole region.
Immunization with Brucella melitensis Rev 1 against Brucella ovis infection of rams.
The efficacy of Brucella Melitensis Rev 1 vaccine (Rev 1) for the prophylaxis of Brucella ovis ram epididymitis was evaluated. Twenty-nine 3-month-old rams were vaccinated with 2 X 10(9) Rev 1 and 14 were revaccinated with 5 X 10(8) at 14 months of age. Six rams remained unvaccinated as a control group. All rams were challenged with 5 X 10(8) B. ovis at 21 months of age. Before being slaughtered 8 weeks later, only one vaccinated ram developed epididymitis while four of the six control rams developed testicular alterations. Genital and selected extragenital organs and lymph nodes were removed at slaughter and inoculated on selective media. B. ovis was isolated from 26.6% of the vaccinated rams, 21.4% of the revaccinated rams and 100% of control rams. Portions of epididymis, testes and vesicular glands were also used for pathological studies. More severe lesions were observed in control rams than in vaccinated ones. In conclusion, these results show that vaccination of young lambs, followed or not by revaccination, is a suitable method for the prophylaxis of B. ovis infection of rams.