The President Karzai-President Obama relationship was bound to be an uncomfortable one from the get-go, but things are getting ridiculous, and it is not helpful for either side. In case you haven’t heard, ever since Obama’s visit to Kabul last week, which included a personal meeting with Karzai, a diplomatic (more likely undiplomatic) row has […]
Throughout the world, there are 49 countries that have forced marriage or child bride problems. Forced marriage is simply breach of basic human rights. It is a form of domestic violence and child abuse that contributes to a society’s problems. Afghanistan is one of the Islamic countries where people hold strongly tight to customs and […]
Bamyan province is one of the largest in the Hazarajat region of Afghanistan. It is located in the centre of the country and the majority of the people are Hazaras. According to government officials, throughout the country, twenty million people are living under the poverty line, from which 40% make a home in Bamyan. Poverty […]
Barack Obama made his first trip to Afghanistan as president a few days ago, and during his 6 hours in the country he met with President Karzai, Gen. McChrystal, and Ambassador Eikenberry. It has been reported that Obama pressed Karzai on clamping down on corruption and that their conversations were very much ‘down to business’. […]
David Fedman of FPA’s East Asia blog has written a thorough review of Michael Swaine’s “China and the AfPak Issue“. According to Fedman, in the piece Swaine, a China expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, ‘deftly outlines the myriad of often-competing strategic interests in the region that add texture to China’s foreign policy […]
War is a scary event which happens to destroy cities, lives and take everything a person would have in life. It is always difficult for children to understand what war is and why it happens. If children get affected by a frightening event like war, that affection would remain with them for the rest of […]
To really understand an international political issue or situation, knowledge of the local geography is necessary. A presentation I saw a few years back by an American marine who served in Afghanistan showcased that no modern technology, weapon, tactic, etc. could completely supplant the axiom that ‘Geography is destiny’. It is for this reason I […]
David Miliband: Do you think President Hamid Karzi will be able to provide a stable situation in Afghanistan with his new cabinet? Mr President Hamid Karzi has possessed presidential election through corruption. Do you think he will be able to eliminate corruption from the country itself ? Do you think Mr Karzi has education, health, […]
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, watch this Irishman named Patrick speak his mind on the current American strategy and presence in Afghanistan and the lack of media coverage of the war: Kennedy does a more than fair job offering a critique of the American presence in Afghanistan and President Obama’s counterinsurgency/Drone attack strategy. But […]
We at the Foreign Policy Association welcome new blogger for Afghanistan, Tahera Nassrat. I, in particular, am very excited to have her expertise and unique perspective brought to this blog. Here is more about Tahera, our new blogger: Tahera was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. She finished her primary education in Kabul and higher education in […]
Government, After collapse of Taliban regime, Afghanistan first democratic presidential election took place in October 2004. Hamid Karzai has been elected as president of Afghanistan. Ten million Afghans, more than a third of the country, registered to vote, including more than 40% of eligible women. Karzai was declared the winner in November, taking 55% of […]
Or should I say, ‘Continue!’ When it comes to the geopolitical game, Afghanistan President Karzai, Iranian President Ahmadinejad, and US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates are more than willing to let the dice roll. Gates got to go first, when he made an unannounced visit to Kabul earlier in the week, and was followed by […]
Foreign Policy Association’s Water’s Edge series currently features an article by Daniel Widome analyzing President Obama’s surge strategy by taking a closer look into the Marja offensive and recent arrests of high ranking Taliban members inside of Pakistan. Here’s an excerpt: Taken together, the operation in Marja and the arrests in Pakistan could signal an […]
When it comes to prognosticating, the most dangerous game political scientists play (game theory can be quite scary though), about Afghanistan’s future, you could do a lot worse than Central Asian analysts Joshua Foust and Ahmed Rashid. In two recent pieces, Foust in the New York Times and Rashid in a lecture in Philadelphia, each […]
Following the current events in Afghanistan is not for the faint of heart, but one specific recurring story is by far the most distressing for me: The continuous attacks on education facilities, teachers, and most appalling, students by extremists. While modern Afghanistan has never been home to a strong educational system, ever since the Taliban […]