Is America defeating the Haqqani network?A key group of Taliban fighters known as the Haqqani network have not conducted a large scale attack in Kabul for seven months, which suggests recent tactics from US troops are working, writes Eric Schmitt.
War in Afghanistan
Rising Afghanistan death toll
The death toll for foreign troops in Afghanistan hit 700 for the year this weekend making 2010 the deadliest year of the nearly decade-long war. At least in Iraq foreign troop deaths are declining, explains Richard Farmer.
The Afghanistan War needs less tanks
The US military’s tank-like MRAP (mine-resistant ambush-protected) vehicles work wonderfully in the streets of Iraq. But in the hills and desert of Afghanistan, the tanks just help the insurgents gain more ground writes Major Michael Waltz from the US Special Forces.
How journalism is failing us in the Iraq War
There’s a reason “embedded” became a dirty word in journalism: most of the news coming out from Iraq and Afghanistan is highly filtered, not representative of what is going on and completely overplays the US Military’s importance and success, declares Patrick Cockburn.
What did America think about our Afghan debate?
Plenty of Australians were skeptical of the “furious agreement” espoused by both major parties during parliament’s debate on the war in Afghanistan, but United States Ambassador to Australia Jeff Bleich was glued to the screen and chuffed with the results, writes Leo Shanahan.
M*A*S*H, public sentiment and the war Afghanistan
On the subject of the war in Afghanistan the Australian public seem to be echoing the same old testaments espoused in M*A*S*H - that war is futile and childish - but it is harder to imagine a better war to be a part of, writes David Burchell.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: If we continue to tread water on Afghanistan, we’ll drown
Crikey readers have their say.
Political snippets: Why just Afghanistan?
There is no evidence I have seen that suggests that fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan has lessened the danger of terrorism.
Crikey Says: Meanwhile, in Afghanistan…
Just to put things in context…
must read 
US troops + Afghan police: not exactly a match made in heaven
Politicians keep talking up the important of training Afghanistan’s police force, but as Christopher Beam learns, the ANP and US Troops encounter cultural misunderstandings, Taliban infiltration of the cooking department and arguments about whether the Afghanistan police are lazy.
Why Powell can save Obama
David Petraeus has bet his career on counterinsurgency strategies in Afghanistan, so there’s a good chance he will resign and turn on Obama if the President pulls the plug. Only one man can protect Obama from that kind of threat and his name is Colin Powell, writes Peter Beinart.
Debating Afghanistan: furious agreement
Crikey media wrap: Yesterday heralded the opening day of Australia’s first parliamentary debate into the war in Afghanistan, including PM Gillard’s surprise admission that Aussie troops may not leave Afghanistan for a decade.
Afghanistan: respecting expertise, seeking knowledge
The problem with war coverage is just this: we are given a simplistic view of a complex situation, writes journalism student Andrew Riddle, a former soldier in the Australian Regular Army
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.
Grattan: Defending crazy Tony
Gung-ho Tony Abbott wanting to get embedded with Aussie troops in Afghanistan is back to the Action Man Abbott of old. But he might need to retreat on his defence policy, says Michelle Grattan.
Time to mention the war
What exactly are we — and the rest of the NATO/ISAF mission — wanting to achieve in Afghanistan? Democracy is a complex issue in a fraught nation like Afghanistan and it’s time to question whether Aussie troops are helping or hindering, says Benedict Coleridge.
Abbott fails to learn the Greek lesson
I can’t think of a single case in modern times when an Australian soldier or police officer has been convicted of murder for actions committed while on duty.
Rethinking Afghanistan: no place for politics in military prosecution
Australia has an independent process for military justice and a need to comply with international obligations. To suggest that the government should step in, as Tony Abbott did yesterday, is foolish, writes Angela Priestley, editor of Lawyers Weekly.
Abbott gets hit with Afghanistan flak
The latest Newspoll shows Tony Abbott’s approval ratings down 9%. Why? The Afghanistan issue — where he didn’t visit troops because he feared jetlag — reflected poorly in the polls and he might need to rethink the call for more Aussie troops.
Crippling Obama: no we can’t
Expect the upcoming US midterms to be brutal for the Democrats, with the Republicans likely to get significant increased power. But will Obama — thanks to a fracturing of the Republicans with the Tea Party — still control the foreign policy debate? Unlikely, says Matthew Hill.
Hartcher: Angry Abbott in Afghanistan
Tony Abbott sprayed Julia Gillard for her “act of low bastardy” in politicising his missed visit to Afghanistan last week. For nearly ten years the Afghanistan War has been a bipartisan issue. Not any more, declares Peter Hartcher.
Hey Julia and Tony, stop acting like foreign policy douche bags
This week Abbott said he was too jet-lagged to visit Afghanistan and Gillard admitted she wasn’t crash hot in foreign affairs. These gaffes demonstrate that both leaders are struggling in foreign policy, writes Greg Sheridan.
Guy Rundle: Rundle: why Afghanistan is the non-un-post-war-war
Is it possible that people can reason about war and peace as a moral and political decision, not as a technical specialist discourse?
Sheepish sleepish Abbott
Crikey media wrap: As photos of PM Julia Gillard chatting with the Aussie troops in Afghanistan surfaced in the papers, Tony Abbott was M.I.A. Where was the Opposition Leader? Too sleepy to make it.
