Asia

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 […]

Afghanistan

Taliban Attack Qandahar Airfield; Parliament goes on Strike

Juan Cole

Guerrillas fired mortar shells and used small arms to attack the major US military base in south Afghanistan, Qandahar Airfield, on Saturday. The operation was the third major attack by insurgents during the past week. They had also attacked a NATO convoy in the capital, Kabul, and had attacked Bagram Base north of Kabul. The […]

Pakistan

Pakistan’s Social Media Ban Endangers Economic Growth

Juan Cole

The Lahore High Court’s ban on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and some other social media sites was supported on Friday in Pakistan by rallies of students, attorneys and fundamentalists. Blackberry services have also been banned by the Pakistani telecom authority. But these knowledge workers are unwittingly shooting themselves in the foot and raising the question of […]

Afghanistan

Kabul Blast Kills 19, Wounds 52; 5 US Troops Dead

Juan Cole

The BBC is reporting that Afghan guerrillas deployed a suicide car bomb against a NATO military convoy in west Kabul near the parliament building Tuesday morning, killing at least 19 persons and wounding 52. Five US troops are said among the dead. MSNBC has a good video report: The enormous fireball destroyed twenty vehicles. Spokesman […]