Barack Obama wins a Nobel peace prize AND may escalate a war? Well, we live in post-ironical times, where we all dutifully believe six impossible things before breakfast. Like, nuclear weapons are ultimately peaceful.
War in Afghanistan
Obama’s done good but not that good…
Barack Obama’s Nobel win acknowledges that he’s changed how Americans deal with the world, particularly the Muslim world and has helped reform the world’s view of the US. But, let’s not forget Afghanistan. Or Iraq.
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.
Obama vs. McChrystal: who’s really running the Afghan war?
Obama may be America’s Commander-in-Chief, but the US military’s commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has been making waves by publicly discussing his opinions on the military’s strategy. Just what is the chain of command here?
Welcome dissenters, it’s time to end the war
Anti war protesters in the US are moving their anger from Iraq to Afghanistan, fighting military proposals for a troop surge. With vigils, petitions and house parties, Peter Rothberg shows how to get involved.
Propaganda war claims a real victim in Afghanistan
A young girl was killed in Afghanistan when an 18kg box of propaganda leaflets, dropped from the air by the British RAF, landed on her head.
Where have all the war caskets gone?
The answer, my friend, is sitting in the White House. Even though casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to mount, the media has lost all interest in parading images of flag-draped American war caskets since Bush left office, says Byron York.
Afghanistan to become Obama’s Vietnam?
It’s crunch time for Barack Obama as allies begin to fade for the “forgotten war” in Afghanistan, writes Geoffrey Garrett. Should he launch a full scale surge of troops, or consider a withdrawal?
Hybrid airships for Afghanistan gain buoyancy
Nerdy aviation people, get excited. The US military are planning an autonomous, free-flying, surveillance airship (read: a type of futuristic hybrid Hindenburg) to be used in the war in Afghanistan.
Let’s invite Russia to the party in Afghanistan
The US and NATO commander in Afghanistan reckons they need tens-of-thousands more troops to have a hope of succeeding — but where to find them? Why not Russia? suggests Daniel Gallington: unlike most countries, they actually want to be there.
Behind the veil of Afghanistan’s women
Despite the billions pumped into the war in Afghanistan, women’s rights have barely changed since the rule of the Taliban, claims Globe and Mail, in an in-depth report on women in the conservative city of Kandahar.
Yes, the Afghan election was fraudulent. Now what?
Amid fraud allegations, Hamid Karzai has officially ‘won’ 54% of the votes in the Afghan election. Is it more important to maintain national stability or push for a vote recount?
Obama needs to review Afghanistan ASAP
Foreign troops in Afghanistan are increasingly being seen as foreign invaders, says a former US national security adviser. How can the US Alliance ensure it doesn’t repeat the Soviet Union’s mistakes in Afghanistan?
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.
Will Afghan election prompt allies to withdraw troops?
International support is souring and a power struggle will emerge within Afghanistan, following the fraudulent Afghan election. With numerous world elections coming up, pressure is mounting on international leaders to stand firm against Afghanistan.
Bloody battle in Afghanistan to free NYT journo
A New York Times reporter being held captive by militants in Afghanistan has been freed in a daring raid by British commandos. But his freedom comes at a heavy cost: the life of his Afghan interpreter and two others, who were killed in the crossfire.
Four days as a Taliban prisoner: freed journo’s tale
Stephen Farrell, the NYT journalist recently freed from imprisonment by the Taliban, in a raid by British forces that left one of his colleagues and several others dead, gives his personal account of the ordeal.
What happens when war gets photographed
A photo of a dying US marine in Afghanistan was plastered across newspapers this week. With support for the war dwindling, will it provoke the same outrage that the flag draped coffins of US marines killed in Iraq did?
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.
Did Gawker prompt a State Department investigation?
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has ordered an investigation into allegations that private security contractors guarding the US embassy in Kabul are having wild, drunken parties involving prostitutes, violence and hazing. Can snarky media gossip site Gawker take credit?
Keggers in Kabul: security contractors party hard
A letter sent to US secretary of state Hillary Clinton alleges that the private security contractors guarding the US Embassy in Kabul are living in a “Lord of the Flies” environment, with parties involving drunken brawls, prostitutes, hazing and humiliation a regular event.
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.
US General calls for a rethink on Afghanistan
The commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, says the war there is still winnable, but requires a new strategy: shifting focus from battling Taliban insurgents to helping the local population feel secure.
At Stars and Stripes independent, investigative journalism soldiers on
America’s daily military paper Stars and Stripes has been doing some nice investigative journalism recently on the issue of censorship and embedded journalists in Afghanistan.
How the pundits got it oh so wrong on Afghanistan
Crikey / Jeff Sparrow / Monday, 7 September 2009
Given the almost universal recognition that the Afghanistan campaign has become a bloody mess, it’s worth revisiting some of the pundits who initially sold us the war.