Afghanistan

(By Anand Gopal via Tomdispatch.com) It was a typical Kabul morning. Malik Ashgar Square was already bumper-to-bumper with Corolla taxis, green police jeeps, honking minivans, and angry motorcyclists. There were boys selling phone cards and men waving wads of cash for exchange, all weaving their way around the vehicles amid exhaust fumes. At the gate […]

Afghanistan

Can Afghanistan’s Vibrant Democratic Press Survive?

Juan Cole

(By Olof Blomqvist) The presidential election has shown Afghanistan’s increasingly mature media scene at its best – hopefully not for the last time. Afghanistan’s vibrant and diverse media scene is often held up as one of the few real success stories of the post-invasion years. While the Taliban notoriously banned television, strung up video cassettes […]

Afghanistan

How Torture became Normalized in America

Juan Cole

(By Rebecca Gordon) The US military involvement in Iraq has more or less ended, and the war in Afghanistan is limping to a conclusion. Yet leaks of Senate torture reports about actions in 2002 to 2006 are still breaking news. Don’t the problems of torture really belong to the bad old days of an earlier […]

Afghanistan

Obama and David Brooks’s Manhood Problem

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) David Brooks attacked President Obama on Sunday, saying: “Basically since Yalta we’ve had an assumption that borders are basically going to be borders, and once that comes into question, if in Ukraine or in Crimea or anywhere else, then all over the world … all bets are off . . .” … […]

Afghanistan

An Int’l Trail of Death and Heartbreak: How the Bush Wars came home with the Vets

Juan Cole

(By Ann Jones) After an argument about a leave denied, Specialist Ivan Lopez pulled out a .45-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun and began a shooting spree at Fort Hood, America’s biggest stateside base, that left three soldiers dead and 16 wounded. When he did so, he also pulled America’s fading wars out of the closet. […]

Afghanistan

Top 7 Surprising pieces of Good news in Afghanistan Presidential Election

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Afghanistan went to the polls on Saturday, despite threats by the Taliban to disrupt the elections and calls by the extremists for Afghans to boycott the vote. As it turns out, the elections appear to have been a success, despite many problems (including a last-minute shortage of ballots as more voters showed […]

Afghanistan

Will electoral Fraud undermine Afghanistan’s new President?

Juan Cole

(By Djeyhoun Ostowar) War-torn Afghanistan does not possess a civil registry. It therefore lacks reliable statistics. Given widespread corruption, the absence of an identification system and the high security risk of voting, is mass-election fraud a necessary and acceptable price for peace? On April 5, the Afghan people will vote in the country’s presidential elections, […]

Afghanistan

After Karzai: Afghanistan votes for a New President amid Security Threats

Juan Cole

Afghanistan poised for uncertain election as US forces exit (via AFP) Afghanistan heads to the polls Saturday to choose a new president after Hamid Karzai’s 13-year reign and a US-led military campaign which have radically changed the country but failed to defeat the Taliban. The first round of the election comes as the… —— […]

Afghanistan

US National Security hijacked, flown into Bermuda Triangle of Mysteries

Juan Cole

(By Tom Engelhardt) Isn’t there something strangely reassuring when your eyeballs are gripped by a “mystery” on the news that has no greater meaning and yet sweeps all else away? This, of course, is the essence of the ongoing tale of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Except to the relatives of those on […]