Opinion
March 29, 2025
Michael Hughes: Washington Looks to Undermine Iran-Taliban Ties
March 15, 2025
Michael Hughes: Pakistan’s Blame Game Over BLA Train Attack
March 1, 2025
Michael Hughes: Taliban, Trump Headed For Divorce
February 8, 2025
Michael Hughes: Taliban Turf War Deepens
January 24, 2025
Michael Hughes: ICC Complicates Case Against Taliban By Focusing on Gender Identity
January 3, 2025
Michael Hughes: Pakistan Unlikely to Succeed in Bid to Encircle Afghanistan
December 20, 204
Michael Hughes: Syria’s Jihadist Rulers Use Taliban Playbook to Obscure Reality
December 7, 2024
Michael Hughes: UN Hard-Pressed to Aid Some 23Mln Afghans in Need as Winter Strikes
November 16, 2024
Michael Hughes: Trump Unlikely to Get Played by Taliban Again
November 2, 2024
Michael Hughes: Taliban Descent Into Madness Fuels Resistance
October 19, 2024
Michael Hughes: Taliban 2.0 Tightens Fascist Control Over Afghans
October 5, 2024
Michael Hughes: Afghanistan Looks to Iran, India, Central Asia Amid Trade War With Pakistan
September 19, 2024
Michael Hughes: Departing NATO Chief Blames ‘House of Cards’ in Kabul For Taliban Takeover
August 30, 2024
Michael Hughes: Murky CIA-Taliban Ties Demand Scrutiny
August 10, 2024
Michael Hughes: Washington Sleeps as Afghanistan Becomes Breeding Ground For Global Jihad
July 19, 2024
Michael Hughes: Afghan Exit Weaponized in 2024 White House Race
July 5, 2024
Michael Hughes: Xi Says Afghanistan ‘Indispensable’ to Regional Security
June 15, 2024
Michael Hughes: Taliban Global Engagement Gains Momentum Despite Abuses
June 1, 2024
Michael Hughes: Taliban Exacerbate Afghanistan’s Economic Headwinds
May 17, 2024
Michael Hughes: U.S. ‘Peace’ Institute Calls for Lethal Action in Afghanistan
May 4, 2024
Michael Hughes: Protect The Afghan People: Time For The Resistance to Set Priorities
April 20, 2024
Michael Hughes: Taliban Distort Islam to Restrict Civic Space in Afghanistan – Study
April 4, 2024
Michael Hughes: US Selective Outrage Over Use of Child Soldiers in Afghanistan
March 23, 2024
Michael Hughes: AQ Booming Under Taliban 2.0
March 2, 2024
Michael Hughes: China Afghan Dilemma: Looking for Reward Amid Ton of Risk
February 10, 2024
Michael Hughes: Biden Never Recovered From Botched Afghan Exit
January 27, 2024
Michael Hughes: Pak Army Chief Gets ‘A’ for Honesty in Expressing Disdain for Afghans
January 6, 2024
Michael Hughes: U.S. Ambivalent Over IS-K Iran Attack
December 15, 2023
Michael Hughes: Political Instability Hinders Pakistan Response to DI Khan Attack
December 2, 2023
Michael Hughes: India Takes Heat For Realist ‘Collusion’ With Taliban
November 17, 2023
October 21, 2023
Michael Hughes: Taliban Under Fire for Failing Quake Recovery
October 7, 2023
Michael Hughes: Pakistan Hopes to Rattle Taliban With New Trade Restrictions
September 23, 2023
Michael Hughes: Pakistan at UNGA Blasts Afghanistan and India Over Support for Terrorism
September 9, 2023
Michael Hughes: Biden Apathy Amid Afghan Exit Chaos on Full Display in New Book
August 12, 2023
Michael Hughes: Delaying Aid Punishes Afghans For Taliban Sins
July 8, 2023
Michael Hughes: Biden Willfully Oblivious of Taliban-AQ Ties
June 23, 2023
Michael Hughes: Moscow Accuses US, UK of Exploiting Afghan Situation to Destabilize C. Asia
June 8, 2023
Michael Hughes: India Boosting ‘Soft Power’ Edge Inside Afghanistan Amid Hunger Crisis
May 19, 2023
Michael Hughes: Khalilzad Warns Pakistan’s ‘Triple Crisis’ Could Lead to War
February 26, 2023
Michael Hughes: UN Pressure Unlikely to Change Taliban Approach to Media ‘Threat’
February 11, 2023
January 28, 2023
Michael Hughes: Taliban Secrecy Obscures Afghanistan’s Economic Reality
December 31, 2022
Michael Hughes: Taliban Support for Kuchi Land Grabbers Could Bolster Resistance
December 3, 2022
Anti-Pakistani Militants Find ‘Strategic Depth’ in Afghanistan
November 11, 2022
Michael Hughes: House Republicans to Launch Probe of Biden Afghan Policy in Next Congress – Lawmaker
October 8, 2022
Michael Hughes: Pakistan-Taliban Tensions Boil Despite Imperative to Cooperate
September 24, 2022
Michael Hughes: Taliban Restrictions Threaten Women’s Health, Entire Afghan Care System
September 9, 2022
Michael Hughes: Republicans Escalate Attacks on Biden for ‘Continuing’ Failures in Afghanistan
August 27, 2022
Michael Hughes: Botched Afghan Exit Haunts Biden Despite Antiterror ‘Wins’
August 13, 2022
Michael Hughes: Taliban Exacerbated Afghan Humanitarian Crisis in Year 1 of Rule 2.0
July 30, 2022
Michael Hughes: Western Efforts to Isolate Taliban Failing on Multiple Levels
July 2, 2022
Michael Hughes: US Women’s Rights Envoy Boycotts Talks With Taliban, Mocks Muttaqi
June 18, 2022
Michael Hughes: As Taliban Deepen Ties With Uyghur Jihadists, China’s Frustration Grows
June 4, 2022
Michael Hughes: India-Taliban Realpolitik Likely to Rattle Islamabad
April 16, 2022
Michael Hughes: ANALYSIS: Ousted Khan May Still Complicate Sharif’s Embrace of U.S. Security Policy
March 19, 2022
Michael Hughes: US, NATO Escalate ‘Mujahideen’ Strategy in Ukraine
February 15, 2022
Michael Hughes: Taliban Foreign Policy Chief Accuses US of Breaking Reconstruction Promises
November 15, 2021
Michael Hughes: Taliban Ill-Prepared for Afghan Governance Balancing Act
November 1, 2021
Michael Hughes: U.S. Steps Up Scapegoating of Ghani Amid Scrutiny of Afghan Collapse
October 2, 2021
Michael Hughes: The Taliban’s Nonindigenous Ideology
September 1, 2021
Michael Hughes: Pakistan’s New Endgame in Afghanistan: Mitigate Blowback
July 15, 2021
Michael Hughes: Pentagon Chief Says U.S. Mission in Afghanistan ‘Not Over’
July 1, 2021
Michael Hughes: ‘Known Knowns’: Rummy’s Follies in Afghanistan
June 2, 2021
Michael Hughes: Islamabad Calls for Political Solution in Afghanistan as Taliban Encircles Kabul
May 1, 2021
Michael Hughes: Troika+1 Urges Kabul to ‘Openly Engage’ Taliban
April 1, 2021
Michael Hughes: Biden’s Confusion Keeps US Mired in Afghanistan
March 15, 2021
Michael Hughes: Corruption Remains Afghanistan’s Greatest Threat
March 2, 2021
Michael Hughes: US Launches Diplomatic Push to Extend Troop Stay in Afghanistan
February 16, 2021
Michael Hughes: NATO Exit Delay May Keep Afghan Peace Process on Ice
February 1, 2021
Michael Hughes: Biden Inherits No-Win Situation in Afghanistan
January 16, 2021
Michael Hughes: Khalilzad Looks to Shape Post-Trump End Game in Afghanistan
January 1, 2021
Michael Hughes: The ‘Thin Rumors’ of China Bounties in Afghanistan
November 14, 2020
October 15, 2020
Michael Hughes: Trump Adds Afghanistan to Last-Minute Election Arsenal
October 2, 2020
Michael Hughes: Islamabad Seems Content to ‘Keep The Pot Boiling’ in Afghanistan
September 16, 2020
Michael Hughes: Pompeo Downplays Terrorist Threat in Afghanistan to Justify Speedy Withdrawal
September 2, 2020
Michael Hughes: India, Pakistan Unlikely to Take Any Risks for Afghan Reconciliation
August 15, 2020
Michael Hughes: IMF to Extend Afghan Credit Line if Anti-Corruption Reforms Implemented
August 1, 2010
Michael Hughes: Kabul-Taliban Legitimacy War Hits Pivotal Phase
July 16, 2020
Michael Hughes: Taliban Expands Footprint Inside Afghanistan as US Vacates Key Bases
July 2, 2020
Michael Hughes: As Foreign Superpower Exits Afghanistan, Insurgent Fault Lines Deepen
June 16, 2020
Michael Hughes: Trump’s Warp-Speed Afghan Exit Plan Sparks Fierce Resistance
June 2, 2020
Michael Hughes: Afghanistan’s Virus Crisis Predictably Turns Into Humanitarian Disaster
May 16, 2020
Michael Hughes: Afghans Have Good Reason to Scrutinize US Intel Exonerating Taliban
May 1, 2020
Michael Hughes: Hundreds of Nations, Entities Endorse UN Global Ceasefire as Afghan War Escalates
April 16, 2020
March 31, 2020
Michael Hughes: Aid Agencies, Rights Groups Sound Alarm Over COVID-19 Outbreak in Afghanistan
March 16, 2020
Michael Hughes: Taliban Poised to Exploit Afghanistan’s Political Nightmare, Thanks to U.S.
March 3, 2020
Michael Hughes: Trump’s Fake Peace Deal With the Taliban
February 19, 2020
Michael Hughes: Pashtun Rights Movement Complicates Pakistan-U.S. Endgame in Afghanistan
February 2, 2020
Michael Hughes: US-Taliban ‘Peace’ Process Yields Record Level of Violence
January 16, 2020
Michael Hughes: US Distorts Iran’s Role in Afghanistan in Wake of Soleimani Strike
January 2, 2020
Michael Hughes: Afghanistan, Iran Could See a Boost in Trade Unless Washington Interferes
December 16, 2019
Michael Hughes: US Congress Also Bears Responsibility for Prolonging Afghanistan’s Unwinnable War
December 1, 2019
Michael Hughes: Uncertainty Looms Over U.S., Taliban Negotiators’ Ability to Guarantee Ceasefire
November 16, 2019
Michael Hughes: US-Afghan Mission Fails to Check Islamic State Khorasan’s Surge
November 2, 2019
Michael Hughes: Afghan Foreign Minister’s Abrupt Exit Leaves Heads Scratching
October 18, 2019
Michael Hughes: Exploring The Ghani Institute Bombshell’s Impeccable Timing
October 2, 2019
Michael Hughes: U.S. Fuels Anxiety Over Afghan Vote Count
September 4, 2019
Michael Hughes: Will Trump’s Afghan Exit Gambit Fool U.S. Voters?
August 16, 2019
Michael Hughes: Ghani Falls Prey to American Diplomatic Sabotage
August 2, 2019
Michael Hughes: Foreign Meddling: US, Taliban Seek to Make Afghan Election Irrelevant
July 15, 2019
Michael Hughes: Khalilzad Thinks U.S. Can Leave ‘Very Positive Legacy’ in Afghanistan
July 1, 2019
Michael Hughes: Intra-Afghan Talks May Be Doomed by Differences Over Future Political System
June 19, 2019
Michael Hughes: Deciphering Pompeo’s Baffling Accusation of Iran Complicity in Kabul Attack
June 2, 2019
Michael Hughes: Taliban Adeptly Embrace Modern Technology Despite Clinging to Primitive Ethos
May 16, 2019
Michael Hughes: ISIS Expands Across South Asia Casting Doubt on Effectiveness of Anti-Terror Efforts
May 1, 2019
Michael Hughes: Afghan Civil Society, Taliban on Collision Course in Peace Talks
April 15, 2019
Michael Hughes: Might Makes Right: US Strong-Arms ICC Into Dropping Afghan War Crimes Probe
April 2, 2019
Michael Hughes: Viceroy Khalilzad’s Faustian Bargain Spells Doom for Afghanistan
March 2, 2019
Michael Hughes: Warring Parties in Afghanistan Trade Blame for Record Civilian Death Toll
February 16, 2019
Michael Hughes: Kashmir Conflict Threatens to Undermine Trump’s Afghan Gambit
February 2, 2019
Michael Hughes: Pakistan Backs Trump Fast-Tracking US-Taliban Talks
January 16, 2019
Michael Hughes: Trump Account of Afghan-Soviet War Freaks Out U.S. Establishment
January 2, 2019
Michael Hughes: Trump Delays Afghan Withdrawal Amid Backlash Over Decision to Exit Syria
December 16, 2018
Michael Hughes: China’s Non-Western Solution for Afghanistan Gains Traction
December 1, 2018
Michael Hughes: Argentine Prosecutors Should Have Pursued US Officials Over Afghan War Crimes
November 16, 2018
Michael Hughes: Mujahideen Hit Moscow: Exploring Russia’s ‘Great Game’ Gamble
October 17, 2018
Michael Hughes: Dark Agendas Lurk Behind U.S. – Taliban Talks
October 1, 2018
Michael Hughes: Afghan Co-Puppet Pushes U.S. War Propaganda
September 3, 2018
Michael Hughes: U.S. Afghan ‘Experts’ Peddle Recipes for Perpetual War
August 17, 2018
Michael Hughes: Will Siege of Ghazni Turn Out to Be Another Non-Tet Offensive?
August 2, 2018
Michael Hughes: Will Khan’s Rise Make Pakistan Even More Dangerous?
July 3, 2018
Michael Hughes: U.S. Anti-ISIS Campaign Failing in Afghanistan Despite Intensification
June 16, 2018
Michael Hughes: Lucky Strike: How Afghanistan’s Historic Ceasefire Was Nearly Shattered
June 2, 2018
Michael Hughes: Taliban Expose Pentagon’s Obfuscation of Reality
May 17, 2018
Michael Hughes: Drought Rescue Workers Prepare for High-Risk Mission in Afghanistan
May 1, 2018
Michael Hughes: Why Xi-Modi Vow to Cooperate in Afghanistan Has U.S. Strategic Planners Worried
April 16, 2018
Michael Hughes: Torching of Afghan Schools Raises Doubts Over Reconciliation
April 1, 2018
Michael Hughes: U.S. Extends ‘Blame Russia’ Strategy to Afghanistan
March 15, 2018
Michael Hughes: Tillerson’s Exit May Quash Hopes for Non-Military Solution to Afghan War
February 18, 2018
Michael Hughes: US Inspector General Exposes Rosier-Than-Reality Assessments of Afghan War
February 3, 2018
Michael Hughes: U.S. Mulls Afghan Coal Deal Despite Wasting Billions on Infrastructure Projects
January 16, 2018
Michael Hughes: Erdogan, Hekmatyar Attempt to Hijack Afghan Peace Process
January 1, 2018
Michael Hughes: Uncertainty Looms Over Strength of ISIS in Afghanistan
December 16, 2017
Michael Hughes: Washington’s Man in Kabul Under Siege
December 2, 2017
Michael Hughes: US-Pakistani ‘Reset’ Doomed as Chasm Widens Over Terror, India
November 15, 2017
Michael Hughes: Afghans Express Fear of Foreign Forces as NATO Intensifies War Campaign
November 2, 2017
Michael Hughes: US, Afghan Governments Fail to Conceal Ground Truth in Fight Against Taliban
October 2, 2017
Michael Hughes: Exploring The Taliban’s Anti-Coalition ‘Decapitation’ Strategy
September 16, 2017
Michael Hughes: Trump Mulls Unleashing CIA’s Lawless Drone Program on Afghanistan
September 2, 2017
Michael Hughes: Wrath of Trump Unlikely to Deter China-Backed Pakistan
August 16, 2017
Michael Hughes: Will Taliban Strategy to Stroke Trump’s Ego Work?
August 1, 2017
Michael Hughes: Pentagon Blowing $458Mln on Afghan Intel Program Bodes Ill for Surge
July 16, 2017
Michael Hughes: Afghanistan’s Internal Wars Handcuff High Peace Council
July 1, 2017
Michael Hughes: Mini-Surge in Search of a Strategy
June 14, 2017
Michael Hughes: Taliban Trust-Corroding ‘Insider’ Attacks May Backfire – Defense Expert
June 2, 2017
Michael Hughes: Kabul Terror Attack Likely Designed to Force Trump’s Hand
May 15, 2017
Michael Hughes: Military-Industrial Complex Alone Stands to Gain by Trump ‘Surge’ in Afghanistan
April 30, 2017
Michael Hughes: Pakistani Delegation Underscores Islamabad’s Contempt for Afghans
April 16, 2017
Michael Hughes: Taliban Grows Stronger in Afghanistan Amid Hyper-Focus on ISIS
April 1, 2017
Michael Hughes: White House Strays From Pentagon Script on Sangin Rout
March 16, 2017
Michael Hughes: Phenomenology of Self-Deception: Understanding US Strategy in Afghanistan
March 5, 2017
Michael Hughes: Trump Must Resist Futile Escalation of War in Afghanistan
February 16, 2017
Michael Hughes: Why America’s Not ‘So Innocent’ in Afghanistan
February 4, 2017
Michael Hughes: Trump Poised to Exploit Obama Drone Program
January 17, 2017
Michael Hughes: Obama’s Inevitable Failed Legacy in Afghanistan
January 1, 2017
Michael Hughes: US, Afghan Spy Agencies Refuse to Abandon Self-Defeating Warlord Strategy
December 17, 2016
Michael Hughes: Haqqanis Continue to Roam Free in Pakistan Despite US Pleas
December 1, 2016
Michael Hughes: American Exceptionalism: How the United States Never Commits War Crimes
November 16, 2016
Michael Hughes: Trump’s Plans For Afghanistan Impossible to Predict
October 31, 2016
Michael Hughes: Western Democracy-Building Crusade Fails to Bring ‘Stability’ to Afghanistan
October 17, 2016
Michael Hughes: Afghanistan Forgotten in Scandal-Ridden US Presidential Race
October 1, 2016
Michael Hughes: Ghani-Hekmatyar Peace Deal Smacks of Desperation
September 18, 2016
Michael Hughes: U.S.-Fueled Corruption Dooms Efforts to Rebuild Afghanistan
September 1, 2016
Michael Hughes: U.S. Pursues Trilateral Containment of Pakistan
August 15, 2016
Michael Hughes: U.S. Gambles on New Delhi in Indo-Pakistani Proxy War
July 31, 2016
Michael Hughes: How Corrupt U.S. Contractors Left Afghanistan in The Dark
July 15, 2016
Michael Hughes: Khalilzad Spurns His Former Taliban and Pakistani Cohorts
July 1, 2016
Michael Hughes: Laura Bush Exploits Afghan Women’s Rights to Extend U.S. Presence
June 19, 2016
Michael Hughes: Kabul Leans on Foreign Military Power in Absence of Internal Solution
May 31, 2016
Michael Hughes: New Taliban Leader Likely to Intensify Jihad in Afghanistan
May 16, 2016
Michael Hughes: IMF Calls For More Neoliberal Reforms in Afghanistan
May 1, 2016
Michael Hughes: Pentagon ‘Intentionality’ Defense For Afghan Hospital Attack Draws Fire
April 16 2016
Michael Hughes: Afghans Should Be Wary of Loya Jirga Abuse
March 31, 2016
Michael Hughes: House of Cards: The Perils of Neglecting Subnational Governance in Afghanistan
March 15, 2016
Michael Hughes: US Failed to Brace Afghanistan for Economic Crash
February 28, 2016
Michael Hughes: Pakistan ‘Double Game’ Reaches New Low
February 14, 2016
Michael Hughes: Why Talking to the Taliban is a Futile Necessity
January 31, 2016
Michael Hughes: How US Aid and Development Projects Continue to Destabilize Afghanistan
January 20, 2016
Yamin Zakaria: Afghanistan – Challenges for 2016
January 15, 2016
Michael Hughes: US Officially Recognizes Latest ‘Gift’ to Afghanistan: The Islamic State
December 30, 2015
Michael Hughes: Bagram Outcry Obscures Root Causes of US Troubles in Afghanistan
December 19, 2015
Yamin Zakaria: Afghanistan’s Pipeline Project to Peace and Prosperity?
December 16, 2015
Michael Hughes: Trump’s Anti-Muslim Rhetoric Could Fuel ISIS, Taliban in Afghanistan
November 27, 2015
Michael Hughes: US War Crimes in Kunduz Demand Independent Probe
November 19, 2015
Yamin Zakaria: Forced ‘Marriage’, Adultery and Penal Codes
October 27, 2015
Yamin Zakaria: Is Russia to Replace the US in Afghanistan?
September 28, 2015
Yamin Zakaria: The Forgotten Afghan Refugees
August 26, 2015
Yamin Zakaria: ISIS incursion into Afghanistan