Asia

President Obama’s appointment of Gen. David Petraeus to succeed Gen. Stanley McChrystal as commander of US forces in Afghanistan signaled a continued commitment by the White House to a large-scale counter-insurgency campaign involving taking large swathes of territory, clearing it of insurgents, holding it in the medium term, and building up local government and social […]

Afghanistan

McChrystal Drama is Sideshow; Can Obama define a realistic Goal?

Juan Cole

The Daily Telegraph in the UK talked to a senior congressional figure late Tuesday or very early Wednesday ET, who said that Gen. Stanley McChrystal had submitted his resignation in advance of Wednesday’s meeting at the White House between him and President Barack Obama. The step was prompted by a revealing profile in Rolling Stone […]

Afghanistan

Obama’s MacArthur Moment? McChrystal Disses Biden

Juan Cole

Gen. Stanley McChrystal is apologizing for remarks he made in a Rolling Stone interview denigrating Vice President Joe Biden and US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry. McChrystal is said to have asked “Who’s that?” at the mention of Joe Biden’s name, and to have suggested that Amb. Eikenberry leaked memos critical of McChrystal’s planned counter-insurgency […]

Afghanistan

Meh story about $1 Trillion in Minerals in Afghanistan

Juan Cole

The report that geologists have found $1 trillion in mineral wealth in Afghanistan is less important than it seems.. That Afghanistan has minerals is not in fact news. But none of the sort of research that would be necessary to place a value on them has been done, so no one actually knows what they […]

Afghanistan

40 Killed in Afghan Wedding Bombing;
4 US Troops killed in Helicopter Downing

Juan Cole

A wedding in Nagaan in Qandahar province was bombed on Wednesday, killing at least 40 persons and wounding at least 70. The new violence comes as it is being reported that President Hamid Karzai has lost faith in the US & NATO’s ability to defeat the Taliban, and is turning to Pakistan instead as the […]

Afghanistan

Insurgents Kill 10 NATO Troops;
Afghanistan Condemns Israel

Juan Cole

Insurgents in Afghanistan killed 10 NATO troops on Monday, 7 of them Americans. Five of the US troops were killed in Eastern Afghanistan, the two others in the south. One of the deaths in the south was from small arms fire. US special envoy Richard Holbrooke was pressed on Monday as to whether the US […]

Afghanistan

Key Afghan Security Officials Sacked by Karzai
Taliban Reject Peace Talks
Bombings in Jalalabad, Kunduz, Qandahar

Juan Cole

The security situation in Afghanistan continued to be bad on Sunday. In Jalalabad in the eastern Pashtun region, a roadside bomb targeting a US convoy injured 13 Afghans. It may be that the attack also killed a US soldier, since one was reported KIA in ‘eastern Afghanistan.’ In Qandahar to the southwest and in Kunduz […]

Pakistan

Why Pakistan needs the Separation of Religion and State;
Atrocities by Taliban against Ahmadis

Juan Cole

The attack by ten armed and trained militants on two Ahmadi places of worship resembled in its techniques the assault on Mumbai (Bombay) in fall of 2008 (see this Federation of American Scientists report [.pdf]). Some at least of the militants appear to have been from southern Punjab and to have been residing in Waziristan […]

Afghanistan

Taliban Commander Maulvi Fazlullah Said Killed in Nuristan

Juan Cole

Conflicting reports are emerging from the province of Nuristan in Afghanistan, some alleging that Maulvi Fazlullah, a.k.a. ‘Mulla Radio,’ has been killed in fierce fighting along with six companions. On Thursday, a group of insurgents took on Afghanistan National Army troops in Nuristan, with heavy fighting continuing on Friday. Maulvi Fazlullah was one of the […]