Michael Hughes: The already-forgotten war in Afghanistan – the one the United States started – has been relegated to background noise in a presidential contest rife with scandal and low on serious policy debate. The mainstream media has nearly guaranteed that most voters will have Hillary Clinton’s emails or Donald Trump’s alleged gropes on their minds
Slate: American officials received persistent, stark warnings that Afghanistan’s entrenched culture of official corruption would undermine their efforts to rebuild that country after the West’s military invasion 15 years ago, according to recently declassified diplomatic cables and internal government reports. Click here to read more (external link).
Michael Hughes: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on September 29 consummated a peace agreement with notorious warlord and internationally-designated terrorist Gulbidden Hekmatyar, who is renowned for being the only prime minister in history to bomb his own nation’s capital. The immediate and obvious question is: Why? Why strike a peace deal with an exiled war criminal who
Antiwar.com: What, precisely, is the US military for, and what, precisely, can it do? In practical terms, how powerful is it? On paper, it is formidable, huge, with carrier battle groups, advanced technology, remarkable submarines, satellites, and so on. What does this translate to? Click here to read more (external link).
Michael Hughes: The U.S. reconstruction watchdog’s latest report assessing corruption in Afghanistan reads like something ripped from the pages of a Ludlum spy thriller, replete with malign actors, drug kingpins, predatory warlords, and crooked politicians. Archetypal CIA agents are seen running around with bags – literally bags – of cold hard cash, paying off a slew
Al Jazeera: The ongoing political crisis within the Afghan National Unity Government amid the country’s security and economic challenges recalls earlier warnings, notably from US intelligence and the UN, on the fragility of Afghanistan’s political stability. According to the agreement brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry in September 2014, the Afghan government should have initiated a
Michael Hughes: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, from Indian soil on August 30, boldly promoted “trilateral” dialogue among the United States, Afghanistan and India while calling out Pakistan to abandon its pro-terror policies. Meanwhile, back in Washington, Pentagon chief Ashton Carter struck a base-sharing arrangement with his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar. Both moves mark a
Al Jazeera: Afghanistan’s two-year-old National Unity Government is experiencing its most difficult political moment after Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah expressed dismay and frustration last week over the way that President Ashraf Ghani is dealing with issues pertaining to partnership, leadership and policy priorities. Click here to read more (external link). Related Presidential Palace, CEO’s Office Work
Michael Hughes: The U.S. state-building watchdog reported on July 29 that despite Washington investing $3 billion in Afghanistan’s power sector the country still suffers from one of the worst electrification rates in the world. The report, issued by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), beat around the bush citing issues like “poor project management”
Michael Hughes: Captain obvious Zalmay Khalilzad told the U.S. Foreign Affairs committee on July 12 that Pakistan was using the Taliban as a proxy force to dominate Afghanistan. Besides revealing a phenomenon few people outside of Pakistan would deny, Mr. Khalilzad’s testimony dripped with irony considering both the Taliban movement and its patrons in Islamabad were