Midcoast Forum on Foreign Relations

James P. Farwell

Monday, June 11, 2012 at the Samoset

Topic: The Pakistan Cauldron

James P Farwell is an expert in strategic communication and information operations who has advised the US Special Operations Command, the US Strategic Command and the Department of Defense on counterterrorism and counterinsurgency in the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan. He has written articles for the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Middle East Institute, Defence IQ, and the IO Journal. He is an attorney with degrees from Tulane and the University of Cambridge, and also a political consultant who has worked nationally and internationally at the presidential level. He lives in New Orleans.

He is also the author of the recently published book, ‘The Pakistan Cauldron’

The assault on Osama bin Laden spotlighted Pakistan’s unpredictable political dynamics, in which betrayal, paranoia and conspiracy feature prominently. Understanding Pakistani politics is crucial to working with this challenging American ally. As Benazir Bhutto often stated, there is “always the story behind the story,” and James Farwell tells it clearly in The Pakistan Cauldron.