South Asia

By Atal Ahmadzai and Faten Ghosn | – The international community is closely monitoring the Taliban, after the group re-seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021. There is legitimate reason for concern. The Taliban are again ruling through fear and draconian rules. The Taliban’s last regime, in the mid-1990s, was marked by human rights violations, […]

Afghanistan

After Afghanistan, US military presence abroad faces domestic and foreign opposition in 2022

The Conversation

By Michael A. Allen, Carla Martinez Machain, and Michael E. Flynn | – In August 2021, the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan after fighting a war there for nearly 20 years. In addition to Afghanistan, the U.S. has reduced its military presence in several other conflict zones in recent years. It has lowered troop levels […]

Afghanistan

Afghans face Harsh Winter, Hunger, lack of Health Clinics: How much of it is our Fault?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The ancient Greek philosopher Bion of Borysthenes said that boys throw stones at frogs in jest, but the frogs die in earnest. The United States government hasn’t placed sanctions on Afghanistan as a joke, but it certainly has done so in a blunt way, and Afghans are on the verge […]

Afghanistan

Biden’s 4 Biggest Mideast Challenges in 2022

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Biden faces severe challenges in the coming year, but in my view the for-profit news often either focuses on the wrong ones or misinterprets the nature of the obstacles. Here are some of the major challenges: 1. Iran While many foreign policy hawks and inside-the-beltway pundits see the Iranian […]

Afghanistan

The Unbearable Double Standard of the US Press, judging Biden Harshly and Abruptly Forgetting Trump’s Bizarre Antics

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – I am not the only analyst to see an extraordinary set of double standards applied in the US media to Joe Biden in comparison with Donald Trump. It is almost as if reporters and anchors are willing to forget every one of Trump’s perfidies but never willing to forget even […]

Afghanistan

From Palestine to Afghanistan, Top 6 Ways our World Changed in 2021

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – It is time to look back at 2021 and consider the most consequential developments, as covered here at Informed Comment. 1. The most important change was that the Republican Party has abandoned democracy, as witnessed by its reaction to the attempted Trump coup of January 6, 2021. The GOP has […]

Afghanistan

Iran, China and Russia face Dilemma of Taliban Control of Afghanistan

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Ron Synovitz | – ( RFE/RL ) – The chaotic withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan and the lightning collapse of the internationally recognized government in Kabul in August spelled the end of the West’s nearly 20-year foothold in the war-torn country. Now, with the Taliban back in control of Afghanistan, other […]

art and photography

The Nativity, Jesus and Mary in Paintings of the Muslim Mughal Court of India

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Here’s a Christmas entry. The Mughal dynasty, originating in what is now Uzbekistan, ruled India from 1526 until the 18th century, though the dynasty continued under British rule until 1857. Some of the members of the royal family were remarkably open-minded about religion, being a Muslim minority in a sea […]

Afghanistan

Afghanistan: heroin and human trafficking are the only two sectors of the economy still thriving

The Conversation

By Jonathan Goodhand and Jan Koehler | – In the frontier town of Zaranj on Afghanistan’s border with Iran, young men jostle one another as they cram into pickups that leave at regular intervals to be smuggled across the border. Human trafficking is one of the few sectors of the Afghan economy that is thriving. […]