America's General
Pakistan takes its most crucial decision since the 1971 war — to side with the US against the Taliban. The clerics may protest, but Musharraf has few options.

ECONOMIC IMPACT
Where Are We Going?
Fear and uncertainty stalk the Indian economy as early damages begin to show.

Ready For Battle
Where will the US strike, with what and how? A report on the military options before the global coalition that the Americans are building against terrorism.

Shifting Stance
Indian foreign policy is in a flux following the terrorist strikes in the US, metamorphosing in tandem with the tectonic shift in the geopolitical landscape of the world.

Menace In The Mind
People like bin Laden are not so much politicising religion as religionising politics.

FROM THE EDITOR IN CHIEF

The sounds of war are at our doorstep as America prepares to launch its grandiosely titled Operation Infinite Justice. These are troubled and uncertain times all over the world. The global economy is shuddering, stock markets have tumbled and the world waits for the American reaction with nervous trepidation. This matters to us because the scene of the action now shifts to our own neighbourhood. It will intimately involve our most difficult neighbours-Pakistan and Afghanistan. Its outcome will determine not only the future of global terrorism but also address our most troubling foreign policy issues-relations with Pakistan over Kashmir and the problem of cross-border terrorism. Whatever happens, the subcontinent's delicate power balance is likely to change dramatically in the coming months.

Our second special issue following Terrible Tuesday takes an exhaustive and in-depth look at every party and every phenomenon involved in this mounting global crisis. We asked experts in several countries to gauge what the US' political and military options actually are against an enemy that is unseen. Afghanistan watchers like Jason Burke of The Observer, London, try to predict the Taliban's reactions and Osama bin Laden's future moves. Professor Mark Juergensmeyer of the University of California who has tracked religious terrorism in many countries delves into the psyche of suicide bombers, and W.P.S. Sidhu of the International Peace Academy, New York, examines the likely war scenario. These issues apart, there is mounting interest on how General Pervez Musharraf is coping with the vicious bind he finds himself in. He has to help America or see Pakistan declared a terrorist state. And if he helps them, as he has promised, he faces the wrath of the Taliban and his very vocal domestic fundamentalists.

Then there is, of course, the question of what the Vajpayee Government will do with this opportunity to redraw its global alignments. Make no mistake, a very important slice of history is unfolding before our eyes. The part we play will affect our generations to come.

(Aroon Purie)

Constant suspicion, poverty, ill-health and lack of work dog Afghan asylum seekers in India. INDIA TODAY's Principal Correspondent Anna M.M. Vetticad meets some of them.
Living On The Edge