Asia

Tensions between the United States (‘NATO”) and the Pakistani government boiled over on Thursday and Friday after American helicopter gunships killed 3 Pakistani Frontier Corpsmen and wounded 4 others. The two countries are nominally allies in the battle against Taliban and other extremists, but Pakistan stands accused of being selective in which extremists it wants […]

Afghanistan

Update on German Terrorist Plot

Juan Cole

Update: The plot is alleged to have been hatched by young Muslim-German men who had been attending the same mosque in Hamburg where the 9/11 hijackers attended. Some of them went to northwest Pakistan for training, and one of them was captured in Afghanistan in July. A Mumbai-style attack is inexpensive and logistically unchallenging. If […]

Afghanistan

Major al-Qaeda Attacks on European Cities Said Foiled

Juan Cole

The FT reports that the intensification of US drone bombardment of suspected al-Qaeda positions in Pakistan’s tribal northwest in recent days appears to have been related to intelligence that the cells were planning to hit a number of Western European capitals with “Mumbai-style” random machine gun and bombing attacks. One of the drone strikes is […]

Afghanistan

Deputy Gov. Ghazni Killed;
Karzai Weeps, announces Peace Outreach Council

Juan Cole

Anti-government guerrillas attacked the convoy of the deputy governor of Ghazni province on Tuesday. According to Pajhwok, “Deputy governor of Ghazni province Mohammad Kazem Allahyar, his son, two of his nephews and a guard were killed in the attack in the provincial capital Ghazni, said Zamarai Bashary, spokesman for the interior ministry.” In an address […]

Afghanistan

Engaging the Muslim World Out in Paperback

Juan Cole

Today is the official publication date for the paperback edition of my most recent book, Engaging the Muslim World. Click here to purchase It is somewhat revised, taking some of the stories into 2010. Here is a link to David Sanger’s generous review of the book in the New York Times.

Afghanistan

Afghan Villagers Protest US Air Strike, as Ballot Fraud Evidence Surfaces

Juan Cole

According to the Afghanistan government, about 186 civilians have died in each of the last 6 months in the war. (Other studies suggest the bulk of them are killed in Taliban attacks). While it is true that some 300 civilians were killed in Iraq in August, or nearly twice the Afghan toll, earlier in 2010 […]

Afghanistan

Attack on US Base Repulsed in Afghanistan

Juan Cole

Afghan guerrillas attacked a US forward operating base in Gardez, Paktia Province, on Friday. NATO issued a press release, saying “The attack began when a vehicle, followed closely by four suicide vest-wearing insurgents, attempted to breach a fortified area of the base.” The attackers were forced to flee or were killed, and there were no […]

Afghanistan

Makdisi: The Tragedy of Obama’s Middle East Policy

Juan Cole

Ussama Makdisi writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: In the tragic story of U.S-Arab relations, no era has been as violent as our own. And yet when President Obama began his presidency, he initiated a series of highly-anticipated gestures to the Muslim world. His interview with the Arabic satellite channel Al-Arabiyya was followed […]

Afghanistan

9 US GIs Killed in Afghan Heli Crash as Violence Grows

Juan Cole

A helicopter crash in Zabul near Qandahar in southern Afghanistan left 9 American troops dead and 3 other persons (one an American civlian) wounded. The troops were likely a special operations unit aiming to reduce the power of the Taliban in the outskirts of this major city. NATO denied Taliban claims to have shot down […]