Afghanistan

The Taliban reportedly have control of US biometric devices – a lesson in life-and-death consequences of data privacy

By Margaret Hu | In the wake of the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul and the ouster of the Afghan national government, alarming reports indicate that the insurgents could potentially access biometric data collected by the U.S. to track Afghans, including people who worked for U.S. and coalition forces. Afghans who once supported the U.S. have […]

Afghanistan

Ida: The Climate Emergency and Fossil Fuels, not Afghan terrorists, just Knocked out Power to America’s 4th-Largest Port

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The two big stories on Sunday, of the continued evacuation effort at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, and the landfall of Hurricane Ida on the coast of Louisiana have something in common. Both are about potential threats to the United States. America’s national security elites and arms manufacturers […]

Afghanistan

The same MAGA mob Who supported Insurrection are Smearing pro-American Afghan Refugees as Dangerous

Dan Dinello

Chicago (Special to Informed Comment) – Stoking fear of Afghan refugees, Stephen Miller — architect of Trump’s ethno-nationalist agenda — used the Afghanistan withdrawal and the ISIS airport attack as another opportunity to spread Islamophobia. Just hours after Kabul fell to the Taliban, Miller focused on an anti-immigrant message: “It is becoming increasingly clear that […]

Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Who’s Who in the Taliban’s ‘inclusive’ new Administration

The Conversation

By Amalendu Misra | – ( The Conversation) – As western powers frantically scramble to evacuate their citizens and the Afghan nationals who worked for them, the nature of the Taliban leadership’s intentions for how it intends to govern remains obscure. But if various messages fed in recent days to the international media are to […]

Afghanistan

Biden got 117,000 Afghans Out: Contrast that Time Trump Abruptly Withdrew Troops from Syria and refused to Help Kurdish Allies

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Richard N. Ojeda, an Army vet and former West Virginia state representative tweeted out an observation that I would like to reinforce: I don’t remember Donald Trump flying one Kurd to safety. He let Turkey slaughter them. They were our allies that served side by side with our troops. Where […]

Afghanistan

Afghan women’s lives are now in danger from the Taliban – but they have always faced male violence

The Conversation

By Jenevieve Mannell | – The takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban has undoubtedly put women’s lives in danger and threatened their human rights in new ways. But if we want to help, we need to first understand that Afghan women’s lives were challenging long before the takeover. The threat of violence has long been […]

Afghanistan

‘The Taliban Are Looking for Me:’ Many Unable to Flee Afghanistan Face Grave Risks

Human Rights Watch

Patricia Gossman | Associate Asia Director | – Human Rights Watch – Thursday’s bombing at Kabul’s international airport has drastically curtailed evacuation flights for at-risk Afghans. The effort was already winding down, after getting out some human rights defenders, women’s rights activists, journalists, interpreters, and others, but leaving many more behind to face growing threats. […]

Afghanistan

The history of the Taliban is crucial in understanding their success now – and also what might happen next

The Conversation

By Ali A. Olomi | – The rapid takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban left many surprised. To Ali Olomi, a historian of the Middle East and Islam at Penn State University, a key to understanding what is happening now – and what might take place next – is looking at the past and how […]

Afghanistan

US Troops caught up in ISIL-K – Taliban Civil War: Why it Proves Biden was Right to Leave

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Al Jazeera Arabic reports that ISIL-K (the so-called “Islamic state group” of Iraq and the Levant in Khorasan) claimed responsibility for the horrific bombings in Kabul on Thursday near Baron Hotel and at Abbey Gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport. According to AP, the bombings killed 60 Afghans and wounded […]