Michael Hughes: U.S. corporations are in secret talks with Afghan officials about exploiting the country’s coal industry in what appears like another ploy by the Trump administration to profit off the war while countering China’s dominance of the mining sector. Ironically, the discussions are occurring just as a watchdog report reveals yet again how the U.S.
Michael Hughes: In a famous memorandum dated October 16, 2003 then U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld put forth challenging questions to Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Myers and other top-level Pentagon officials about the uncertainty around whether the United States was making progress in the struggle against terrorism worldwide. “Today, we lack metrics to know if we are
The Diplomat: According to research by the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU), the simple logic of “competitive elections” does not exist in Afghanistan’s electoral process. Therefore, “in their current manifestation, elections have the potential to destabilize” the country. Moreover, research from the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) on countries with upcoming elections shows that applying
Michael Hughes: President Ashraf Ghani is taking fire from every direction in Afghanistan for his inability to deliver on key promises including implementing election reforms, filling critical political positions, and making progress on infrastructure development. Up until now, his most consistent support has come from the U.S. and its military but, the question is, will this
Michael Hughes: Recent efforts to jumpstart a dialogue between the U.S. and Pakistan seem futile given the duo’s irreconcilable differences – especially in two key areas. The U.S. wants Pakistan to hand over the Haqqani Network and other Afghan Taliban while Islamabad would like Washington to dial down its love affair with India. However, it is
Michael Hughes: More than three quarters of Afghans say they are afraid of occupying forces, according to a new survey – a number likely to only increase as civilian casualties hit record levels. 92% of respondents said they are fearful of running into the Taliban, which is hardly anything to celebrate because the United States and
Michael Hughes: Military and political leaders in Kabul have unsuccessfully tried to cover up the entire horrific reality about the war in Afghanistan where the Taliban movement have been gaining strength by the week. Meanwhile, the Pentagon continues to believe the answer to the crisis is unleashing more drone strikes, bombs, and night raids as the
NPR: The U.S. military is sending more soldiers and marines to Afghanistan to work with Afghan forces at small combat outposts. But the State Department is largely staying behind the gates and blast walls of its Embassy in Kabul and not heading out into the field. Officials say it’s because of security concerns, but critics say
Press TV / October 11, 2017 Interview The Trump administration has intensified the US bombing campaign in Afghanistan and is changing the rules of engagement there, indicating a plan for a “permanent occupation” of the country, an analyst says. Stephen Lendman, an author and radio host from Chicago, made the remarks in an interview when
Michael Hughes: The Taliban recently rolled out their own targeted assassination program with a rocket attack designed to take out “high value” coalition leaders likely in response to President Donald Trump’s new Afghan strategy. Questions do remain, however, as to the Taliban’s larger motives and if there are more sinister forces at play. Click here to