The whole process had been an imaginary projection of US power in any case — removing the Iraqi people from the picture meant that all attention could be focused on American suffering and the meaning of the war in American life.
Taliban
Rabbani’s assassination ‘a death knell for peace’
The head of Afghanistan’s High Peace Council and former president, Burhanuddin Rabbani, was assassinated in his home yesterday by the Taliban, which has sent a clear message it will not be negotiated with, writes Catherine James, a freelance journalist in Kabul.
Afghanistan 10 years on and still more questions than answers
The war in Afghanistan is an experiment in a new form of war where “victory” will be measured against uncertain goals of stability, development, and reconstruction, writes Dr Benjamin MacQueen, deputy director, Global Terrorism Research Centre, Monash University.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Osama and the Laws of Armed Conflict
Crikey readers have their say.
Child abuse: the new Taliban tactic
There’s a rising number of domestic abuse cases in Afghanistan and the US military wonders if it is a new Taliban technique to help gain access to US military bases and gather intelligence, since military hospitals care for the wounded.
Mungo MacCallum: Mungo: cue applause for Greens on Afghanistan … but what have we learned?
The debate on Afghanistan was long overdue and the Greens are to be congratulated for forcing it upon a reluctant Government. But it must be said that we have learned very little from it to date.
Abbott delivered a more effective case on Afghanistan
This Parliamentary debate on Afghanistan will do nothing to change voters’ views — particularly when the Government can’t provide voters with a compelling case.
Downer: We need to negotiate with the Taliban
Let’s face it: the Taliban is a strong part of the political environment in Afghanistan and therefore we must engage with them to achieve stability. It’s just like how peace only arrived in Northern Ireland once the IRA joined the negotiation process, says former foreign minister Alexander Downer.
Our moral duty to stay in Afghanistan
Everyone knows that much of Afghanistan’s current misery can be traced back to the willingness of the Soviets and the US to fund various groups of cut-throats during the cold war. We’re doing exactly the same today.
Guy Rundle: Rundle: honour killings of women keep the war off the front page
Though we condemn the horrific floggings and prospect of stonings in Iran, similar laws in Saudi Arabia, our political and military ally, attract no attention.
The war in Afghanistan remains out of the sight out of mind
Most Australians now oppose the conflict in Afghanistan. Yet, perversely, its very unpopularity has led to less rather than more public debate about the war.
Should we leave Afghanistan?
The war in Afghanistan is now the single longest US armed conflict in history, and it’s not showing any signs of settling down. Leslie H. Gelb talks about President Obama’s dilemma and why the Taliban can not be defeated.
Understanding the enemy in Afghanistan
A new generation of US commanders in Afghanistan have stopped trying to kill their way to victory, and are now forming strategic alliances with local warlords. Meet a local leader who hates the US — and may just be its best hope.
Abandoning Afghanistan’s women
Women in Afghanistan are most at risk of oppression under Taliban rule. The US used the status of women as a reason to rebuild Afghanistan, but now both Karzai and the US military are ignoring their plight.
Peace in Afghanistan: high hopes but low expectations
The Afghan Peace Jirga — a meeting of tribal leaders and politicians in Kabul to discuss peace and how to rid the country of the Taliban — is beset by worries about control from “foreigners and infidels”, primarily Washington.
Taliban tries to hijack the Times Square bomb
The Pakistani Taliban has released videos attempting to claim the car bomb in Times Square, New York as its work. But it’s all bluff, claim experts. The Taliban doesn’t have that much power in the US.
How Pakistan double-crossed the US in Afghanistan
According to US intelligence officials, Pakistan’s intelligence agency has been secretly releasing captured senior Afghani Taliban members right under the American military’s nose.
The “ruthless warlord” who could save the US in Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s former Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is a “vicious, brutal, devious” warlord says Newsweek — but he may just be the only person on the country powerful enough to oppose the Taliban.
Iraqi police: a $6-billion black hole
The US has invested $6 billion into training Iraq’s police force — yet most are barely trained, can’t operate on their own, and the organisation is rife with corruption.
A tale of two Taliban leaders
Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul and Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef were both former Taliban commanders who were held in Guantanamo. But after they were released, one immediately took up arms and rejoined the insurgency to enact revenge, while the other became a politician and author.
Terror white paper: shiny new language, same old laws
The counter-terrorism white paper issued today is long overdue and foreshadows a welcome shift in discourse on terrorism, writes Greens Senator Scott Ludlam.
Taliban leader captured: an AfPak game changer?
Today’s big news from the AfPak frontlines is that the deputy leader of the Taliban, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, has been captured by American and Pakistani forces. Will this finally bring the Taliban to the negotiating table? asks The Economist.
War criminal to hero … a dangerous precedent
A campaign of assassination of local leaders thought to be loyal to the Taliban contains an obvious potential for human rights abuses, especially since it’s almost impossible for the media to monitor what undercover troops actually do.
Congressman Charlie Wilson’s war is finally over
Charlie Wilson, former US congressman, died overnight. His name would hardly ring a bell if it not for the 2007 film Charlie Wilson’s War, which dramatised his role in promoting US support for the anti-Soviet resistance in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
