Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – British academic Abdul-Azim Ahmed of Cardiff University, an expert on mosques in the UK, complained on Twitter that he was invited onto television to debate whether the Taliban represent Islam: Just had a call from a journo asking if I could go on live to debate whether the Taliban represent […]
Archives for August 2021
Don’t use girls as justification for bombing Afghanistan, again
Dear British feminists, Western military intervention is never a good thing
Afghanistan only the latest US war to be driven by deceit and delusion
By Gordon Adams | – In Afghanistan, American hubris – the United States’ capacity for self-delusion and official lying – has struck once again, as it has repeatedly for the last 60 years. This weakness-masquerading-as-strength has repeatedly led the country into failed foreign interventions. The pattern first became clear to me when I learned on […]
Debt and Disillusionment: Neoliberalism’s Unfair burden on this Generation of College Students
( Tomdispatch.com ) – For the last decade and a half, I’ve been teaching ethics to undergraduates. Now — admittedly, a little late to the party — I’ve started seriously questioning my own ethics. I’ve begun to wonder just what it means to be a participant, however minor, in the pyramid scheme that higher education […]
The Biden Doctrine and Afghanistan: Lean Counter-Terrorism and the end of Bloated Nation-Building
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Joe Biden came out swinging on Monday in defense of his decision to get out of Afghanistan. The rapidity of the collapse of the Ashraf Ghani government in Kabul before the Taliban advance in the past week raised questions about the wisdom of the move among critics of the […]
Who’s Who In The Taliban: The Men Who Run The Extremist Group And How They Operate
By Ron Synovitz | – This piece from August 6, 2021, before they took over Afghanistan, is a very useful overview of Taliban leadership and I thought it well worth reprinting here. ( RFE/RL – Radio Azadi ) – With the Taliban in control … of all districts in Afghanistan, promises made by Taliban political […]
Afghanistan: At-Risk Civilians Need Evacuation, Protection: Governments Should Suspend Deportations, Forced Returns
Human Rights Watch) – (New York) – Afghans at heightened risk of persecution from advancing Taliban forces are in urgent need of evacuation and international protection abroad, Human Rights Watch said today. Foreign governments should prioritize providing visas and helping ensure safe passage for civilians whom the Taliban may target for abuse because of their […]
As Afghanistan falls, what does it mean for the Middle East?
By Tony Walker |- In the 19th century, the phrase “The Great Game” was used to describe competition for power and influence in Afghanistan, and neighbouring central and south Asia territories, between the British and Russian empires. Neither side prevailed in what became known as the “graveyard of empires”. Two centuries later, an American superpower […]
Top 6 International Winners and Losers from Taliban Reassertion in Afghanistan
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The fall of Kabul to the Taliban and the establishment of a Taliban government in the entirety of Afghanistan has dire implications for Afghans, especially women, urban people, Hazara Shiites, and generally non-fundamentalists. It also has implications outside the country. Here is a quick scorecard of the drawbacks and benefits […]
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