Global eye | Tremors far afield

From the streets of Karachi to the mountains of Afghanistan, and from Washington's power corridors to the streets of Iraq, it was a decade of upheaval that created tremors in the global order and redefined security concerns.The South Asian neighbourhood was already on edge. Pakistan struggled to hold itself together, as ethnic violence engulfed the country’s commercial heart Karachi, while Sri Lanka’s civil war revealed another brutal face of insurgency. To the northwest, Afghanistan descended into chaos after the Soviet exit. Factional fighting destroyed cities, uprooted populations and paved the way for the Taliban’s rise.Meanwhile, in 1998, America was aggrieved over more mundane matters: the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal had consumed Washington. As the century turned, Russia was shedding its post-Soviet gloom. The Cold War was over, but its psychological aftershocks remained.Then came September 11, 2001, and the attack on the Twin Towers in the US showing no one was safe, not even Uncle Sam. Soon enough, America declared a global war on terror. Having given shelter to Osama bin Laden, the Taliban and Afghanistan became the first casualty. Attention soon shifted westward to Iraq. When Saddam’s Baghdad fell in 2003, state institutions disintegrated, and Iraq slid into chaos. Across the Islamic world, resentment deepened..preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}By 2004, the world was adjusting to permanent crisis. The war on terror had become a long commitment rather than a finite campaign.- EndsPublished By: Yashwardhan SinghPublished On: Jan 3, 2026Must Watch

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Global eye | Tremors far afield

The old order changed, terror came home to roost, and no one was safe anymore, not even Uncle Sam

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