Asia

Another US helicopter got into trouble on Sunday, and had to make a hard landing in the eastern Paktia province, though no one aboard was hurt. It may have been forced down by Taliban fire. Seven US & NATO troops have been killed in fighting in Afghanistan in the past 48 hours, on top of […]

The murder Tuesday of Ahmad Wali Karzai, the behind-the-scenes authority over Qandahar province and brother of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, shows the continued instability in that country. It is not entirely clear the killing was a political assassination. The bodyguard who pulled the trigger is rumored just to have had a personal grudge with his […]

79% of Americans agree with President Obama’s plan to take a third of US troops out of Afghanistan over the next two years, and 59% think he should withdraw more, and more quickly. These views do not accord with those of the generals in the Pentagon, who felt that Obama’s timetable is “more aggressive” than […]

Aljazeera English reports the Taliban have rejected President Obama’s plans for Afghanistan, but that President Hamid Karzai welcomed steps that would return the country to Afghan rule. Still, this report says that Mullah Omar himself has given his blessing to US-Taliban direct talks. Hard to know which one is right (both are unlikely to be). […]

Amy Goodman of DemocracyNow! interviewed me Wednesday on the significance of President Obama’s announcement of a significant drawdown of US troops from Afghanistan. Here is the video (it may display also the day’s headlines; if so, move the black line at the bottom about two-thirds over to find the segment on Afghanistan): And here is […]