Tag: Afghanistan

Go back to Afghanistan? Men like McMaster and Panetta are addicted to war / How the American empire dug its own grave / Let’s Take the Profit Out of War

All empires die. The end is usually unpleasant. The American empire, humiliated in Afghanistan, as it was in Syria, Iraq, and Libya, the Bay of Pigs and in Vietnam, is blind to its own declining strength, ineptitude and savagery. Its entire economy, a military Keynesianism, revolves around the war industry. Military spending and war are… Read More Go back to Afghanistan? Men like McMaster and Panetta are addicted to war / How the American empire dug its own grave / Let’s Take the Profit Out of War

Dilip

Bhaskar Sunkara: The media is lambasting Biden over Afghanistan. He should stand firm

NB: Will someone ask America’s spin-artists a simple question: who gave the American establishment the right to carry out ‘nation-building’ projects wherever and whenever they deem fit? Have they noticed that this ‘building’ more closely resembles a wrecking ball? DS During the Trump years, publications like the New York Times and Washington Post presented themselves… Read More Bhaskar Sunkara: The media is lambasting Biden over Afghanistan. He should stand firm

Dilip

Thom Hartmann: Myths and lies about Afghanistan's role in 9/11 live on, Bush and Cheney escape justice / Karen Greenberg: The Endless Shadow of the War on Terror

NB: For many decades now, the world has been held hostage by the American election cycle, and the criminal tendencies of American Presidents. Our short memories, our weakness in resisting propaganda; and the degeneration of journalism into op-ed commentary by spin-doctors have contributed to this. The rise of violent Islamist movements has a great deal to… Read More Thom Hartmann: Myths and lies about Afghanistan's role in 9/11 live on, Bush and Cheney escape justice / Karen Greenberg: The Endless Shadow of the War on Terror

Dilip

Feminist Dissent statement in solidarity with Afghan women and all those fighting fundamentalism: Fear is their weapon, Courage is yours

Feminist Dissent views with horror and dismay the betrayal of the people of Afghanistan and all those fighting fundamentalist movements everywhere. Before and since the August 15th 2021 takeover of the country by Taliban, we have watched news of protest marches and heard Afghan women speak out. We are in awe of their steadfast courage in the… Read More Feminist Dissent statement in solidarity with Afghan women and all those fighting fundamentalism: Fear is their weapon, Courage is yours

Dilip

Mohammed Hanif: In Pakistan we cultivated the Taliban, then turned on them. Now we can only hope they forgive us

Not too long ago, Pakistan and Afghanistan were called Af-Pak: two countries joined at the hip, doomed to live and die together. You didn’t get to choose your neighbours, we were told. Geography, we were taught, was our destiny. There was a lot of talk about geostrategic significance – which was the Pakistan military’s way of saying there were… Read More Mohammed Hanif: In Pakistan we cultivated the Taliban, then turned on them. Now we can only hope they forgive us

Dilip

What the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan means for India and Pakistan | The Economist

It was only a question of time before Kabul fell, says A.S. Dulat, a former head of India’s top spy agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, speaking from Delhi. The only surprise was the speed of the Taliban’s advance, concurs the ex-boss of Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence, or isi, Asad Durrani, speaking from Islamabad. The two… Read More What the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan means for India and Pakistan | The Economist

Dilip

Pratap Bhanu Mehta: The American withdrawal from Afghanistan and the sins of empire // Anti-Taliban Forces Say They've Taken 3 Districts In North Afghanistan

American empire has been stuck in a place where, to use Polybius’s words, “it can neither endure its condition, nor the means to overcome it.” In the context of Afghanistan, learned strategic thinkers and broadsheets of imperial privilege like The New York Times, will fulminate over roads not taken. But this exercise, as valuable as… Read More Pratap Bhanu Mehta: The American withdrawal from Afghanistan and the sins of empire // Anti-Taliban Forces Say They've Taken 3 Districts In North Afghanistan

Dilip

In pictures: Afghans mark Independence Day as challenges to Taliban rule rise

The Taliban celebrated Afghanistan’s Independence Day on Thursday by declaring they beat the United States, but challenges to their rule ranging from running a country severely short on cash and bureaucrats to potentially facing an armed opposition began to emerge. The holiday commemorates the 1919 treaty that ended British rule in the central Asian nation.… Read More In pictures: Afghans mark Independence Day as challenges to Taliban rule rise

Dilip

LAURA ADKINS: The last Jews in Afghanistan argued so much the Taliban kicked them out of prison and stole their Torah

As the old saying goes, two Jews, three opinions. Add one headache for the Taliban. Meet Zabulon Simentov, 66, who is believed to be the last remaining Jew in Afghanistan. Emran Feroz recently profiled Simentov for Foreign Policy and uncovered some incredible stories about the feisty Afghan — including that the Taliban once imprisoned him… Read More LAURA ADKINS: The last Jews in Afghanistan argued so much the Taliban kicked them out of prison and stole their Torah

Dilip

The Bush administration made a catastrophic mistake in Afghanistan in 2001 / Afghanistan: The End of the Occupation

At a U.S. Special Forces camp near Kandahar, Afghanistan, on December 5, 2001, the Taliban offered an unconditional surrender. Furthermore, they would disband and disarm: a military force would no longer exist. George W. Bush ignored the offer and continued attacking the Taliban until the end of his term. If only in self-defense the Taliban… Read More The Bush administration made a catastrophic mistake in Afghanistan in 2001 / Afghanistan: The End of the Occupation

Dilip