Taliban

No, Biden ending the Afghanistan War isn’t a Disaster: The disaster was Dropping 7,400 Bombs on the Country Annually

President Biden announced Tuesday that he will completely withdraw US troops from Afghanistan around September 1. This move will bring to an end America’s longest war, which still costs $50 billion a year. Imagine what that money could do for the US if it is invested in green energy and infrastructure. Worse, a lot of […]

Afghanistan

Our Longest War is Ending without Victory, but will we Even Notice?

Andrew J. Bacevich

“Ours is the cause of freedom. We’ve defeated freedom’s enemies before, and we will defeat them again… [W]e know our cause is just and our ultimate victory is assured… My fellow Americans, let’s roll.” — George W. Bush, November 8, 2001 ( Tomdispatch.com) – In the immediate wake of 9/11, it fell to President George […]

Afghanistan

Biden branded Putin a Murderer, but can he get out of Afghanistan without Russian Help?

Nikola Mikovic

Belgrade (Special to Informed Comment) – Russia and the United States may be bitter geopolitical rivals, but sometimes, when they have a common interest they manage to act like partners. Even though the US President Joe Biden recently said that he believes his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is “a killer”, it did not prevent the […]

Afghanistan

Women in Afghanistan worry peace accord with Taliban extremists could cost them hard-won rights

The Conversation

Mona Tajali and Homa Hoodfar | – Three Afghan women who worked at a media company were gunned down in Jalalabad in early March. In January, unidentified gunmen killed two female Supreme Court judges in Kabul. These are the latest victims on a long list of assassinations and attempted assassinations of female politicians and women’s […]

Afghanistan

It’s almost 20 Years since 9/11; Can we finally End our Constant, Disastrous Wars?

Rebecca Gordon

( Tomdispatch.com) – It was the end of October 2001. Two friends, Max Elbaum and Bob Wing, had just dropped by. (Yes, children, believe it or not, people used to drop in on each other, maskless, once upon a time.) They had come to hang out with my partner Jan Adams and me. Among other […]

Afghanistan

The Taliban are megarich – The Way Organized Crime Bosses are — and use ill-gotten Wealth to wage war in Afghanistan

The Conversation

By Hanif Sufizada | – The Taliban militants of Afghanistan have grown richer and more powerful since their fundamentalist Islamic regime was toppled by U.S. forces in 2001. In the fiscal year that ended in March 2020, the Taliban reportedly brought in US$1.6 billion, according to Mullah Yaqoob, son of the late Taliban spiritual leader […]

Afghanistan

Anti-War Officer Corps: An American Crisis of Conscience in the Forever Wars

Tomdispatch

By William J. Astore and Danny Sjursen | If you have a moment, how about joining two retired officers, Bill Astore and me, Danny Sjursen, as we think about this country’s catastrophic forever wars that, regardless of their deadly costs and lack of progress, never seem quite to end? Recently, in a podcast chat about […]

Afghanistan

Trump’s Pernicious Military Legacy: From the Forever Wars to the Cataclysms

Michael T. Klare

( Tomdispatch.com) – In the military realm, Donald Trump will most likely be remembered for his insistence on ending America’s involvement in its twenty-first-century “forever wars” — the fruitless, relentless, mind-crushing military campaigns undertaken by Presidents Bush and Obama in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Somalia. After all, as a candidate, Trump pledged to bring U.S. […]

Afghanistan

Why will we Fight 20 Years in weak Afghanistan but won’t make war on Menacing Climate Crisis?

John Buell

Southwest Harbor, Maine (Special to Informed Comment) – The United States is engaged in forever hot wars. The war in Afghanistan now nears the end of its second decade. Why US history is so saturated -— some would say polluted -— by war has recently become an object of both academic and activist interest. University […]