What if we fail in Afghanistan?It’s time to start asking: what happens if the US and its allies can’t prevent the Afghani Taliban from taking control of the country and restoring a second Islamic Emirate? Steve Coll explores some hypothetical outcomes (spoiler: none of them are good).
Taliban
The Taliban grows more powerful than Al Qaeda
The power balance between the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan has flipped, with the latter’s numbers dwindling to fewer than 100 members in the country. Some Taliban factions are now shunning the terrorist group in an effort to win over local civilians.
Afghanistan: Karzai wins. What now?
It’s over: Hamid Karzai has been declared the winner of Afghanistan’s Presidential election by default. After such a failure of democracy, what does it all mean for the future of Afghanistan and the war? Five experts weigh in.
We outnumber the Taliban 12:1. Why aren’t we winning?
There are about 172,000 international troops in Afghanistan working with a 200,000-strong local force, fighting no more than 25,000 Taliban rebels. Yet more allied soldiers are dying than ever before. Is it finally time to “cut and run”?
Karzai’s opium baron brother and his dirty dealings with the CIA
The parents of Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karazi may be a little ashamed of their son’s alleged involvement in vote rigging, but that’s nothing compared to their other son. Meet Ahmed Wali Karzai, a suspected opium baron who works for the CIA as a US-Taliban go-between.
The Taliban-Al Qaeda merger
The idea that Al Qaeda and the Taliban are two distinct groups — and that we can defeat the former while tolerating the latter — is a fallacy, says Peter Bergen: Al Qaeda cannot be defeated without first securing Afghanistan.
shocking A third of people killed in CIA drone strikes are civilians
A shocking new report has found that a third of the victims of CIA’s Taliban-targeting drone strikes in Pakistan are civilians — and those are just the ones the media knows about.
Why the US can’t beat the Taliban: their secret finances revealed
It’s no longer just opium poppies funding the Taliban. Fundraising from foreign donations, kidnappings and extortion have created a financial monopoly so strong that the US military have publicly admitted they are struggling to fight it.
Rocky Pakistan terrain gets even more unstable
Pakistan’s military have taken a risky move: they’ve launched an offensive in the Taliban-Al Qaeda stronghold of South Waziristan. Will the move unleash a new wave of terror attacks in major cities?
NYT reporter tells: Seven months as a Taliban prisoner
NYT reporter David Rohde spent seven months as a prisoner of the Taliban in Afghanistan before making a daring escape in June. In a six-part series, he tells the entire story.
How Italy’s Taliban bribery got French soldiers killed
When French soldiers arrived in the Afghan region of Sarobi last year, they believed the area to be peaceful. Ten dead and mutilated soldiers later, it’s clear they were wrong. And it was Italy who misled them.
Afghanistan: Get nasty or get out
Obama’s “soft” approach in Afghanistan is a joke, says Michael Scheuer. It’s time to start making some unpleasant choices: get tough with half-a-million more troops, landmines and loads of civilians casualties, or get out.
Al Qaeda goes broke
Does crime pay? Not for Al Qaeda, which is skint and appealing to supporters to help out with some cash. But the Taliban, which has diversified its interests into drugs as well as violence, is rolling in cash.
Why Islamic extremists hate India
India doesn’t have a single soldier fighting in Afghanistan — so why are suicide bombers targetting the Indian Embassy in Kabul? Salil Tripathi explains the long and complex relationship between India and the Islamic world.
Is the Pentagon funding the Taliban?
A US military aid program in Afghanistan that ensures local businesses score all contracts on projects and procurement is filtering money directly into the Taliban’s hands, says Jean MacKenzie. The Pentagon knows, but its hands are tied.
Don’t quit your day job: the Taliban’s weekend warriors
An increasing number of Afghanistan’s urban white-collar workers are taking up a new weekend hobby, and it’s not golf. During the day, they sit behind a desk pushing papers, but come the weekend, they travel back to their hometowns to fight for the Taliban.
An Afghan warlord’s journey from friend to foe
Former mayor of Herat, Afghanistan, Ghulam Yahya, once battled the Taliban alongside Western troops — now he sides with the Taliban, participating in bombings and kidnappings. His defection reflects the increasing frustration and hostility Afghanis are feeling towards foreign forces.
Taking on the Taliban mafia
Extortion, kidnapping, narcotics and protection rackets are funding the Taliban’s fight in Afghanistan, and the more aid and construction work undertaken in the country, the more it profits. Foreign troops aren’t fighting an army — they’re fighting an organised crime syndicate.
The Taliban: the real winner in Afghanistan
Both sides may be claiming victory in Afghanistan’s recent elections, but the real winner is the Taliban, who successfully suppressed voter turnout and garnered international media attention, says Leslie H. Gelb.
Taliban cut off voters’ fingers
The Taliban has made good in its threat the cut off the in-stained fingers of voters in the Afghanistan elections, with two voters in the Kandahar region reportedly having their fingers chopped off by insurgents.
Crikey wrap: Afghans head to the polls
Afghanis headed to the polls on Thursday amidst fears of violent attacks from Islamist Taliban forces, writes Crikey intern Emily Finlay.
Why the Afghanistan election will change nothing
The Afghanistan election is essentially meaningless, because the president serves as a puppet of democracy and the Taliban will still have the real control of the country, writes Thomas P.M. Barnett.
Taliban affects Afghan elections
Voter turnout for the Afghanistan election may have been as low as 10% in regional areas and 26 people were killed in Taliban attacks, but officials were satisfied with the turnout and have deemed the election a success.
Live-blogging the Afghan election
Foreign Policy live-blog the Afghanistan election, with updates from regional centres and videos of vote counting.
