( Tomdispatch.com ) – In recent months, Washington has had a lot to say about China’s ever-expanding air, naval, and missile power. But when Pentagon officials address the topic, they generally speak less about that country’s current capabilities, which remain vastly inferior to those of the U.S., than the world they foresee in the 2030s […]
Archives for August 2021
Former Leaders, Women, Plead with Taliban for Inclusive Afghanistan Government
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The privately owned Afghanistan news service Tolo reports that Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid affirmed that the movement intends to form a new government quickly. On Monday, the Taliban Politburo met with former co-president Abdullah Abdullah, former president Hamid Karzai, and former prime minister Gulbadin Hikmatyar. Abdullah Abdullah described the meeting […]
Where do Afghanistan’s refugees go?
By Tazreena Sajjad | – Images of thousands of Afghans desperately trying to flee their country following a hasty U.S. withdrawal have provoked an international outcry. As of Aug. 22, 2021, some 6,000 U.S. troops were working to evacuate U.S. military, American citizens and Afghans who are approved for Special Immigrant Visas. SIVs are a […]
‘Ready To Resist,’ Residents Of Last Anti-Taliban Stronghold, Panjshir, Brace For Uncertain Future
By Farangis Najibullah | – ( RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi) – As Afghanistan’s last major bastion of anti-Taliban resistance gears up for new fighting against the hard-line Islamist group, there has been an outpouring of support for the effort from residents of the Panjshir Valley. But they are also concerned about the prospect of a prolonged […]
UN Rights Body Needs to Investigate Grave Taliban Abuses in Afghanistan
By Patricia Gossman | Associate Asia Director | – ( Human Rights Watch) – As reports mount of grave human rights abuses by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the United Nations Human Rights Council will hold an emergency session this week. It should immediately mandate the strongest possible monitoring mechanism. Before their takeover of Kabul on […]
Climate Emergency v. Afghanistan: Why do TV Cable News, Pols ignore the greatest Terror Threat to the US in History?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – American cable TV news has been on an Afghanistan jag since the Taliban rapidly advanced in the country, with wall to wall coverage and expressions of dismay and umbrage directed at President Biden not just on Fox but also CNN and even MSNBC. Afghanistan is an important story, to be […]
What Future Awaits Afghanistan? Arirang interview with Juan Cole, Experts (Video)
Arirang Interview with Juan Cole and other Experts: Islamic militant group Taliban has taken control of Afghanistan on August 15th. As soon as the U.S. withdrew its troops from the country, the Taliban swept the nation and reclaimed the Afghan government for the first time in twenty years. President Ashraf Ghani has reportedly fled the […]
Climate change: why government failure to act isn’t the problem
By Nick Bernards | – ( The Conversation) – The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report underscored the dire state of the climate crisis, concluding that “immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions” are needed to limit global warming even to 1.5°C or 2°C. The report renewed calls for urgent action […]
How Can US Corporations address the Climate Emergency if their Stock Buy-backs even Interfere with their Ordinary Business?
Southwest Harbor, Maine (Special to Informed Comment) – The international panel of climate science experts presents the challenge in the starkest terms. A panel of leading scientists convened by the United Nations issued a comprehensive report Monday that contains a stark warning for humanity: The climate crisis is here, some of its most destructive consequences […]