South Asia

No, WSJ, Taliban are not important to the Muslim battle of ideas — as Moroccan elections bring crushing defeat of religious party

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan has provoked a tidal wave of punditry about what it says about Islam. Since Islam is a 1400-year-old religion with 1.8 billion adherents, the answer to that glib query is surely obvious. Nothing. It says nothing about Islam in general. It […]

Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Taliban Severely Beat Journalists: New Restrictions Indicate Crackdown on Free Speech (HRW)

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch | -(New York) – Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have been detaining and assaulting journalists and imposing new restrictions on media work, Human Rights Watch said today. The Taliban should call a halt to the assaults, drop the restrictions, and ensure that Taliban members responsible for abuses against protesters and journalists are appropriately […]

Afghanistan

Who is Mullah Hasan Akhund? What does the Taliban’s choice of interim prime minister mean for Afghanistan?

The Conversation

By Ali A. Olomi | – The Taliban announced on Sept. 7, 2021, that Mullah Hasan Akhund has been appointed interim prime minister of Afghanistan. The decision comes more than two weeks after the militant Islamist group seized control of much of the country, including the capital, Kabul. The Conversation asked Ali A. Olomi, a […]

Afghanistan

Post-Afghanistan, Nation (Un)Building Comes Home

Tom Engelhardt

( Tomdispatch.com) – They weren’t kidding when they called Afghanistan the “graveyard of empires.” Indeed, that cemetery has just taken another imperial body. And it wasn’t pretty, was it? Not that anyone should be surprised. Even after 20 years of preparation, a burial never is. In fact, the shock and awe(fulness) in Kabul and Washington […]

Afghanistan

Afghanistan: the warlords who will decide whether civil war is likely

The Conversation

By Scott Lucas | – Unsurprisingly, the Taliban’s rapid takeover of power across Afghanistan has prompted headlines about a renewed “civil war”. This is misleading, however. “Civil war” implies a situation where an insurgent movement is taking on a ruling government. But in 2001, it was not just the US-backed Northern Alliance that removed the […]

Afghanistan

Taliban Imposes New Dress Code, Segregation Of Women At Afghan Universities

Frud Bezhan

By Frud Bezhan | – ( RFE/RL/Radio Azadi) – KABUL — The Taliban has imposed a new dress code and gender segregation for women at private universities and colleges in Afghanistan, in line with a decree issued to educational institutions and obtained by RFE/RL. All female students, teachers, and staff must wear an Islamic abaya […]

Afghanistan

Taliban seek China as Silk Road reconstruction Partner

Middle East Monitor

Ali Hussein Bakir | – ( Middle East Monitor) – In an interview conducted recently with an Italian newspaper, the Taliban movement spokesperson, Zabiullah Mujahid, pointed out that the movement was ready to rely on China economically in its bid to manage the country following their swift takeover after the US troops withdrawal from the […]

Afghanistan

Will the End of the Afghanistan War provoke Reconsideration of American Militarism?

Foreign Policy in Focus

By David Bacon | – ( Foreign Policy in Focus) – Many in the U.S. media continue to credit the good intentions of the U.S. war in Afghanistan, while belaboring its failure over 20 years to achieve any of them. But to say that the United States wanted a progressive, liberal democratic, and secular government […]

Afghanistan

Failure in Iraq and Afghanistan: Did the Mighty, Cutting-Edge US Military Machine founder on Guerrillas’ humble Improvised Explosive Devices?

John Buell

Southwest Harbor, Maine (Special to Informed Comment) – Victory always seems to be just around the corner or at the end of the tunnel, until it isn’t. With the humiliation of defeat compounded by the difficulties extricating US personnel, second guessing is well underway and will likely last for years. The corruption of the government […]