The Heads of State of Afghanistan (Karzai), Pakistan (Zardari), and Iran (Ahmadinejad) met in Tehran on Sunday for the first trilateral meeting between the neighboring states in years. Extremism, terrorism, and drug trafficking were the main issues on the agenda, but the most important accomplishment was setting a tone of cooperation for future dealings. The […]
This Memorial Day, I would like to pay tribute to all those American military men and women fighting in Afghanistan and beyond. Actually, I would like to go further and thank all those Americans who have sacrificed for this country by serving in our militaries throughout our history, whether in Vietnam, Iraq, WWII, etc. To […]
It is very easy to just sit here and write about US political and military strategy in Afghanistan and discuss how these battles are either won or lost and lose track of what is actually happening in the lives of the individuals actually doing the fighting (and dying), both Americans, Europeans, Afghanis, etc. The iconic […]
In the below one question daily briefing by the US State Department, Spokesman Ian Kelly attempts to describe the ongoing process of the so-called civilian surge in Afghanistan. Though the ‘people surge’ is considered an integral part of the Obama administration’s Afghan strategy, many have wondered where exactly they were going to obtain the necessary […]
It took a matter of hours for President Hamid Karzai’s administration to deny the rumor that his government was to take on former U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad as a CEO or ‘unelected prime minister’ of the central Asian state. The New York Times reported yesterday, based on unnamed American and Afghan officials, that Karzia would […]
Afghan school girls have been targets of the Taliban ever since the group starting gaining power in the country in 1994 and the group remains vigilant in stopping women from gaining access to such basic rights, especially an education. The Taliban have burned down hundreds of girl schools in the past few years and has […]
The US House of Representatives passed a $94.2 billion dollar funding bill for Afghanistan yesterday, but cracks may be appearing in overall US support of the war effort there. The bill passed 368 to 60, with 51 Democrats and 9 Republicans voting against providing more funds for a conflict that new President Barack Obama has […]
The Los Angeles Times has reported a significant change in US-Pakistani usage of drone attacks inside Pakistan territory, and that is that both sides have agreed on a framework to work together. US and Pakistani military officials both anonymously acknowledged that they had joined forces in using US Predator drones to attack Al Qaeda and […]
I apologize for my recent absence as I was getting married. Speaking of marriage, while I was gone US President Barack Obama deepened his ties to the conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Obama administration held another trilateral meeting with Afghan’s Karzai and Pakistan’s Zardari in DC, defended the US military’s use of airstrikes in […]
I don’t normally use this blog to discuss specific violent attacks in Afghanistan, but these incidents are becoming appalling to read about, I can’t imagine living them. In a series of attacks yesterday, over 25 Afghan civilians, security officials, and government figures were killed. The provincial mayor of the eastern province of Laghman was killed […]
With words of caution, Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that his country will increase its troops in Afghanistan by nearly 50%, moving from around a 1,000 to 1,500. These troops, like most of their European counterparts in NATO, will mainly be training Afghan military and police units as well as providing security for the […]
Dexter Filkins reports in the New York Times that part of Obama’s new Afghanistan policy is an emphasis on curtailing Taliban profits from the opium trade. To do this, US commanders have authorization to attempt to take control of the opium-heavy growing regions of Helmand, Kandahar and Zabul Provinces. I could not discern whether a […]
Two items of note: Weak Opposition to Karzai, So Far… The Afghan Election Commission started excepting nominations for presidential and provincial offices for the upcoming August elections and one thing seems clear, incumbent President Hamid Karzai appears to have a strong chance at retaining his position. No other major candidate has so far put in […]
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited the Afghan government in Kabul and with British troops in Helmand Province yesterday and is on to Pakistan today. Brown was there to show his support for his nation’s troops and offer support to President Karzai and his government. Brown announced that he would ‘announce‘ a new British strategy […]
The people of Afghanistan celebrated Earth Day by declaring Band-e-Amir its first conservation area, basically making it the country’s first national park. Band-e-Amir, which features a series of exceedingly deep-blue lakes and natural dams not seen anywhere else in the world, has suffered great neglect and damage from the state’s 30 years of warfare. Though […]