Michael Hughes: The Pentagon announced on January 12 that 300 U.S. marines will return to Helmand province in a final reminder of President Barack Obama’s inability to make progress towards ending the so-called “good war” in Afghanistan. The current situation, however, is not surprising given Obama’s military and nation-building policies were designed to fail, driven as
Mint Press News: A recent investigation has revealed that someone thought to be an aid worker killed by Navy SEALs in Afghanistan was actually a spy working for MI6, the British intelligence agency. Linda Norgrove was employed at Development Alternatives Incorporated, a U.S. contractor working in Afghanistan, when she was captured by the Taliban in September
Khaama Press: The US defense secretary-designate General James Mattis has said the Taliban group is still using the Pakistani soil for insurgency in Afghanistan and the sanctuaries of the group along with the associated militant networks in the country is a key operational issue faced by Afghan forces. Click here to read more (external link). Related
Noor Zahid VOA News January 13, 2017 The Afghan Government on Thursday pushed back against a U.S. Inspector General’s report that said Afghan forces are losing significant territory to Taliban insurgents and are not capable of keeping the nation secure. “These calculations are not constant,” Mohammad Radmanesh, a spokesperson for the Afghan defense ministry, told
RT: A British aid worker who was killed by a grenade in Afghanistan during a botched rescue attempt by US special forces was actually working secretly for MI6, according to investigators at the Intercept website. Linda Norgrove was captured by Taliban insurgents in eastern Afghanistan in September 2010 while she was working for the US contractor
Tolo News: What was President Barack Obama’s hardest decision during his two terms in office? A massive troop surge in Afghanistan, he said in an interview aired Sunday. “Toughest decision was early in my presidency when I ordered 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan,” Obama, who leaves office in less than two weeks, told ABC. After a
Ayaz Gul VOA News January 8, 2017 ISLAMABAD — The Taliban has dismissed American plans to send 300 troops to Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province as nothing but “solely to lend morale” to embattled Afghan forces “in hopes they hold out until spring.” The insurgents have captured most of the districts in Helmand since NATO ended its
Press TV January 7, 2017 The Pentagon will deploy a new task force of approximately 300 US Marines to Afghanistan’s restive Helmand Province, marking the return to a region where hundreds of troops were killed in fierce combat. The forces with a unit called Task Force Southwest will deploy this spring to advise the Afghan
The Washington Post: Over the past decade, U.S. military expeditions have increasingly used development aid to undermine popular support for insurgents and extremist groups, and pacify turbulent areas. But does this tool work in conflict zones like Afghanistan? My new research published in the American Political Science Review provides evidence that aid spending by the U.S.
Noor Zahid VOA News January 5, 2017 WASHINGTON — Instead of a slowdown in fighting during Afghanistan’s harsh winter, government security forces say they will press their operations against the Taliban and Islamic State group despite heavy snow and bitter cold. “Taliban and other terrorist groups will not be allowed to claim territory over the next