Rob Asghar
Encyclopedia
"Rob" Asghar is a Pakistani
American
writer and political commentator. His essays and commentaries have appeared in more than several newspapers around the world, including The Denver Post
, The Wall Street Journal
, Los Angeles Daily News
, Los Angeles Times
, The Philadelphia Inquirer
and The Japan Times
. He has occasionally also written under the name "Robert". Asghar has been a columnist for Creators Syndicate
and a blogger for the Huffington Post.
Asghar spent many years as a speechwriter and consultant for executives in business and academia, and also edited books on management and theology.
Asghar capitalized on widespread American public hunger for opinions and analysis about the Islamic world, Pakistan
and terrorism
by starting writing and publishing columns shortly after the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks. Most of his columns are on US-Pakistan relations
and American foreign policy towards terrorism, offering a perspective shaped by his roots and travels in Pakistan
. A vocal critic of post-9/11 American neoconservative foreign policy, he has often staked out pro-Pakistani positions and has frequently advocated the continuation of aid and engagement with Pakistan even in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden
in Pakistan. Asghar has also criticized the American government for not having a consistent policy regarding Pakistan, accusing it of "betraying Pakistan" when expedient, without thinking of long-term repercussions. He has also argued against a "myth of America's decline," speculating that emerging economies will experience cultural struggles that will hamper their ability to maintain a steady trajectory toward Western standards of economic and social advancement.
Asghar is a fellow at the USC Center on Public Diplomacy
and a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy
.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer and political commentator. His essays and commentaries have appeared in more than several newspapers around the world, including The Denver Post
The Denver Post
-Ownership:The Post is the flagship newspaper of MediaNews Group Inc., founded in 1983 by William Dean Singleton and Richard Scudder. MediaNews is today one of the nation's largest newspaper chains, publisher of 61 daily newspapers and more than 120 non-daily publications in 13 states. MediaNews...
, The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, Los Angeles Daily News
Los Angeles Daily News
The Los Angeles Daily News is the second-largest circulating daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group, a branch of Colorado-based MediaNews Group....
, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
and The Japan Times
The Japan Times
The Japan Times is an English language newspaper published in Japan. Unlike its competitors, the Daily Yomiuri and the International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, it is not affiliated with a Japanese language media organization...
. He has occasionally also written under the name "Robert". Asghar has been a columnist for Creators Syndicate
Creators Syndicate
Creators Syndicate is an independent distributor of comic strips and syndicated columns for daily newspapers. It was founded in 1987 by Richard S. Newcombe, and is based in Los Angeles. Creators was one of the first syndicates to allow its clients to maintain creative control of their material...
and a blogger for the Huffington Post.
Asghar spent many years as a speechwriter and consultant for executives in business and academia, and also edited books on management and theology.
Asghar capitalized on widespread American public hunger for opinions and analysis about the Islamic world, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
by starting writing and publishing columns shortly after the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks. Most of his columns are on US-Pakistan relations
US-Pakistan relations
Pakistan – United States relations refers to the bilateral relationship between the Pakistan and the United States. The United States first established diplomatic relations with Pakistan on 20 October 1947. The relationship since then was based primarily on U.S. economic and military assistance to...
and American foreign policy towards terrorism, offering a perspective shaped by his roots and travels in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. A vocal critic of post-9/11 American neoconservative foreign policy, he has often staked out pro-Pakistani positions and has frequently advocated the continuation of aid and engagement with Pakistan even in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
in Pakistan. Asghar has also criticized the American government for not having a consistent policy regarding Pakistan, accusing it of "betraying Pakistan" when expedient, without thinking of long-term repercussions. He has also argued against a "myth of America's decline," speculating that emerging economies will experience cultural struggles that will hamper their ability to maintain a steady trajectory toward Western standards of economic and social advancement.
Asghar is a fellow at the USC Center on Public Diplomacy
USC Center on Public Diplomacy
The University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy is a joint academic research, teaching and training center created and run jointly by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences' School of International Relations.Center leadership is...
and a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy
Pacific Council on International Policy
The Pacific Council on International Policy is a non-partisan organization headquartered in Los Angeles with members and activities throughout the West Coast of the United States and internationally....
.