In early September, the Taliban began to fill cabinet positions for the new, “provisional government” that will attempt to stabilize Afghanistan following America’s military occupation and disorderly withdrawal from the nation. While it is true that the makeup of this cabinet is expected to evolve over time, the initial round of appointments includes some […]
I just watched a fascinating video from Reuters TV about a tiny town in Afghanistan named “Little America.” Located in the Helmand Province in Southern Afghanistan, “Little America” was the largest development project in Afghanistan’s history. First populated by Americans during the Cold War, it was developed to counteract Soviet influence in the region. The US spent hundreds […]
As NATO is looking for logistic ways to implement the concluded strategic partnership agreement with Afghanistan, which extends its participation in the region beyond pullout timeline of 2014, Kyrgyzstan regains leverage over Russia and the United States, considering it hosts military bases for both countries. However, this time Kyrgyz new authorities are facing some restrictions […]
My colleagues Pat Frost and Rob Grace ( over at the Law and Security Strategy blog) and I have written extensively on why the situation in Afghanistan looks grim. The war there is a long haul; the Karzai government is corrupt, a two-timing, untrustworthy thing; viable solutions to the conflict in Afghanistan require negotiated international […]
The War in Afghanistan has fallen off the American’s people’s radar. It raises the question: was it ever on the people’s radar–that is after the hooooohaaahhh of ramped up, spoon fed nationalism faded to the recyclable detritus of our ill-appreciated commuter lives. Yes. From 2001 until 2007, one might do well to vaguely recall the […]
Bob Woodward has been flying about D.C talking up his book, “Obama’s Wars”. And for good reason. He’s leveling very serious arguments against President Obama’s handling of the War in Afghanistan. He has already talked up a storm with Larry King. Now he’s delivered quite a few blows to the White House during a conversation […]
In his interview with Larry King, journalist Bob Woodward has come out and said outright that Colin Powell is the best candidate for Secretary of Defense after Robert Gates steps down from that role in 2011. General Powell, as Woodward has pointed out numerous times, is a walking embodiment of the history of American wars […]
Zainab Jeewanjee discusses the intricacies of implicating Pakistan in the Wikileaks report. She elaborates on the history, motivations and interests of Pakistan and finds that negotiating with extremist groups is perhaps an inevitable reality that policy makers must take into account before implicating that the government in Islamabad aids insurgents.