Afghanistan

I write in anger. Not blind rage, mind you. A cool, searing, steady anger. I think it is a righteous anger. It is not consequential, but it is my reality. I am angry about the 1,172 US troops dead in the Afghanistan War, and all the other brave NATO and Afghan soldiers who gave their […]

Afghanistan

Afghanistan and Paris Hilton’s Purse

Juan Cole

US mass media is owned by only five corporations, and all of them have decided that advertising dollars flow to celebrity gossip more than to hard news. I’ve had cable television news on in the background all early afternoon Monday, and no one has mentioned the word “Pakistan,” a major security partner of the United […]

Afghanistan

Taliban Attack 2 US Bases

Juan Cole

Taliban attacked two US forward operating bases on Saturday a day after home-made bombs killed 3 US soldiers. The Afghan Persian press reports that NATO sources say 11 insurgents were killed and that little damage was inflicted on the US bases or personnel. On Wednesday, according to official Iranian news sources, Afghan mobs had invaded […]

Afghanistan

Taliban Ambush Kills 30 on Road Crew in Helmand;
60% of Americans Oppose Afghan War

Juan Cole

Word is trickling out now about a Taliban attack on workers and security guards that killed some 30 persons and wounded 15 others, while yet others were taken captive. The victims had been working on a road in Sangin, Helmand Province. Roads allow easier government penetration of provincial areas, and this consideration may have led […]

Afghanistan

2 Marines Killed, Base Attacked in Afghanistan;
Civilian Surge in Doubt

Juan Cole

A prisoner trying to escape a US detention center in southern Afghanistan grabbed a gun and killed two US Marines before being cut down. The two US deaths brought the NATO total of fatalities for the weekend through Monday to 8, with the others having been killed by roadside bombs. In Paktika Province in the […]

Afghanistan

Rudolph: Can You Pass the Terrorism Quiz?

Juan Cole

Jeffrey Rudolph writes in a guest editorial for Informed Comment Can You Pass the Terrorism Quiz? Misconceptions about terrorism, regularly promoted by the mainstream media, have facilitated harmful US government actions—two wars, domestic legislation that curtailed civil liberties, excessive national security spending. That basic, factual information about terrorism is so rarely reported thus serves to […]

Afghanistan

Dispute over Civilian Casualties Roils US-Afghan Relations

Juan Cole

Between 4 and 12 civilians were killed by US troops in a nighttime raid in Nangarhar province on Wednesday, NATO admitted today. Nangarhar has repeatedly been the scene of public protests against the foreign troop presence. In fact, the wikileaks Pentagon documents show that local protests against US and NATO troops have been widespread, routine, […]

Afghanistan

Taliban influence Spreading in Afghanistan

Juan Cole

A former Afghan warlord who turned to supporting President Hamid Karzai and two others were blown up at a soccer match in the northern city of Qunduz by Taliban. A bus full of civilians on its way between Helmand and Qandahar provinces in the Pashtun south hit a roadside bomb, which killed 6 and wounded […]

Afghanistan

War is Theft: Pentagon cannot account for $8.6 Billion of Iraq’s Reconstruction Funds

Juan Cole

The Pentagon cannot account for the over $8 bn. given out to cronies in the first years of the Iraq occupation, money which came from Iraq’s oil proceeds to begin with. The reason is that in the chaotic days after the fall of the Baath government and the collapse of the old economy, Paul Bremer […]