Foreign Policy Blogs

Afghanistan

Laboring on Afghanistan

Laboring on Afghanistan

It’s hard to believe how much Afghanistan is dominating (with health care reform a close second) the American media landscape.  The Afghan presidential election results, and all of the fraud claims surrounding them, are constantly changing, leaks from Gen. McChrystal’s ‘secret’ Afghan war strategy review are popping up everywhere, and poll results and calls from […]

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Film Review – 'Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi (2009)'

Film Review – 'Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi (2009)'

Fellow FPA blogger of Global Film Review, Sean Patrick Murphy has reviewed a recent Afghan film called the ‘Fixer’. Here it is!: This film paints a grim picture of life in Afghanistan.  It starts with Naqshbandi’s relationship with American journalist Christian Parenti. Naqshbandi is also a journalist and is called a “fixer” because he facilitates […]

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American Support for the Afghan War: Falling From Many Angles

These are heady days for both Afghan and American citizens.  Ballots continue to be counted and contested in Afghanistan’s 2nd presidential election, with Karzai in the lead, but not quite with the 50% he needs, and with Americans hearing in Gen. McChrystal’s recent assessment, a likely future request for more US troops and resources.  How […]

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Claims of Fraud and Victory

Claims of Fraud and Victory

Claims of fraud and victory have ringed throughout Afghanistan and in the international media since the first ballot was cast last week.  Though the presidential election was deemed successful, yet far from perfect, by European and American officials, many feel that the election was too riddled with fraud to be considered legitimate.  And though Karzai […]

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Afghanistan Presidential Election: Holding Judgement

Afghanistan Presidential Election: Holding Judgement

While it wasn’t perfect, as no one predicted it would be, but for the most part the Afghan presidential election went relatively well.  Of course, we should hold off full judgment until all the votes are collected, counted, and the election commission is allowed to check fraud complaints.  There have been some vote tallies, but […]

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Afghanistan Goes to the Polls: Tomorrow There Will Be….

Afghanistan Goes to the Polls:  Tomorrow There Will Be….

In a matter of hours many of those eligible to vote in Afghanistan, but not all unfortunately, will go to the polls and choose who they want to govern them for the next half decade.  This election has been fraught with peril and questions for months now and in many ways it’s hard to believe […]

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Afghanistan-Iran-United States: A Triangle with Many Sides (I mean more than three)

Afghanistan-Iran-United States: A Triangle with Many Sides (I mean more than three)

These are trying, heady times in Afghanistan.  We are nearly on the eve of the nation’s second presidential election since the overthrow of the Taliban and much is at stake.  The Afghan government has ordered a halt to reports of violence, the Taliban have made sure there has been violence to report, and the candidates […]

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Afghan Woman's Rights and US Strategic Interests Collide

Afghan Woman's Rights and US Strategic Interests Collide

Afghanistan continues to find its way onto American news cycles and like most news, it’s of the bad and bloody variety.  The US military is on the verge of releasing its latest strategic review of the conflict and how the US expects to go forward, with the hottest topic (more troops?) being avoided.  The Taliban […]

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Af-Pak Channel is Launched

Af-Pak Channel is Launched

While many, including myself, have advocated getting rid of the term ‘AfPak’, the Foreign Policy website has decided to take it full boar…devoting a whole page to ‘The Af-Pak Channel: Inside the War for South Asia‘.  Though I haven’t had a chance to dig deep into the site’s contents and intriciacies, one can quickly see […]

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Afghanistan: The Death of the WoT, Electioneering in the US, and the Meaning of Baitullah Mehsud's Death

Afghanistan: The Death of the WoT, Electioneering in the US, and the Meaning of Baitullah Mehsud's Death

Three important issues to cover, let’s go! Ghani Gets a US Soapbox – Presidential hopeful Ashraf Ghani wrote a ‘why I should be President of Afghanistan and not Karzai’ piece in the Wall Street Journal this weekend and he comes out swinging.  Ghani argues that Karzai ‘turned’, not ‘helped’ or ‘let’, but ‘turned’ Afghanistan into […]

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Afghan Youth Vote: Apathy Appears to Have Some Friends

Afghan Youth Vote: Apathy Appears to Have Some Friends

When Iran’s presidential election turned into a full blown protest movement, I have to confess that my first regionally centered thoughts turned to Iraq, not Afghanistan.  I wondered if the relatively peaceful and successful provincial elections held in Iraq had had an effect on their nearby Iranian neighbors.  On the other side of Iran, of […]

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A Debate Worth Having

A Debate Worth Having

It’s hard to believe, but the people of Afghanistan will go to the polls in just over three weeks to choose their next president.  Though the incumbent Hamid Karzai is the clear favorite, but his return to the state’s head office is not assured as challengers Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani have gone on the […]

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Locked Down in a Tough Position

Locked Down in a Tough Position

One of the greatest challenges facing the United States, its NATO allies, and the Afghan government is how to handle what is sure to be a rising prison population.  The US/NATO troop surge has been followed by more aggressive efforts to take back Taliban-dominated areas and these missions have inevitably led to an increase in […]

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What the World Thinks of the NATO/US in Afghanistan

Excuse me World, how are you feeling about the NATO presence in Afghanistan?  What are your thoughts about a possible return to rule by the Taliban? While WorldPublicOpinion.org asked the world, well almost 65% of it (actually just a few thousand scattered people), to share their thoughts on such questions in a recent survey last […]

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Three's Company-Afghanistan Style

Here are three Afghan-related pieces I read recently that I want to comment on: 1. MountainRunner.us, Tom Broun Tom Broun, a US military officer assigned to NATO, discusses the implications of the ongoing ‘Why Afghanistan Matters’ contest being hosted on Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube on a guest post for Mountainrunner.us.  Broun analyzes the media coverage […]

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