Category Archives: Opinion/Editorial
Pentagon Chief Says U.S. Mission in Afghanistan ‘Not Over’
Michael Hughes: U.S. Defense Department Secretary Lloyd Austin believes the United States mission is not over in Afghanistan – a declaration that comes with nearly all American troops gone, the Taliban on a rampage, and the U.N. sounding alarms over human rights abuses. The insurgents over the past few days, with near impunity, have been
George W. Bush refuses to learn the lesson of Afghanistan
The Week: The war itself created the moral hazard Bush now decries. If we could not change the facts on the ground in Afghanistan with the world’s most powerful military there for 20 years and without any plans to do so in the next 20 years, the war cannot go on forever. Click here to
How Americans invaded, destroyed and abandoned Afghanistan
Press TV July 12, 2021 Syed Zafar Mehdi After 20 long years of costly and futile military adventurism, Americans are retreating from war-ravaged Afghanistan, the ‘graveyard of empires’, as the Taliban make rapid gains across the country. Militaristic meddling in developing nations – or in other words ‘foreign military invasions’ – has been a defining feature of American
Will Taliban play the role of US’s proxy group?
Press TV July 11, 2021 By Sa’adollah Zarei for Kayhan A notable number of Afghan towns’ fall into the hands of the Taliban has given rise to many discussions on the international and regional levels, including in Iran. The main question here is what will be the fate of Afghanistan as a result of these
Why Both Russians and Americans Got Nowhere in Afghanistan
Bloomberg: If you’re not going anywhere no matter what happens, or what price you’re forced to pay, you can outlast superpowers – The story of two superpower invasions of Afghanistan is all about the similarities that end up erasing the undeniable differences. Click here to read more (external link).
Commentary: The United States’ Parting Gift To Afghanistan Of Theocratic Democracy
Obaidullah Baheer Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty July 8, 2021 A civil war in Afghanistan seems increasingly probable amid the withdrawal of foreign forces, the Taliban’s unwillingness to compromise, and the Afghan elites’ inability to come to a consensus. But we shouldn’t give up hope for peace or stop discussing how to make such a peace
‘Known Knowns’: Rummy’s Follies in Afghanistan
Michael Hughes: On the very same day then-President George W. Bush delivered his “Mission-Accomplished-in-Iraq” speech, his Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, declared that major U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan had “clearly” moved into stabilization mode. “The bulk of this country today is permissive, it’s secure,” Rumsfeld told reporters during a visit to Kabul on May 1,
Talibanization in Afghanistan Could Explode Central Asia
Tolo News: Currently, there are around 36,000 religious seminaries in Pakistan functioning as factories to produce Taliban. It is a big and thriving industry, patronized by the military and run by the religious elites with huge investments from the Middle East. A good number of students here are still Afghans who have been used (and
Islamabad Calls for Political Solution in Afghanistan as Taliban Encircles Kabul
Michael Hughes: Is Islamabad once again playing a slick double game? Pakistani military and diplomatic leaders continue to claim publicly that the only way to end the Afghan conflict is via a peaceful political resolution just as their alleged minions, the Taliban, are by the hour positioning themselves to capture Kabul. Click here to read