South Asia

By Joe Dyke (IRIN) MAZAR-I-SHARIF, November 2014 (IRIN) – In northern Afghanistan, the residents don’t often use the phrase – most don’t even know it. But as they describe how increasingly extreme weather patterns are making their lives harder every year, they map out many of the symptoms of climate change. As a new UN […]

Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s Women: After 13 Years of War, the Rule of Men, Not Law

contributors

By Ann Jones via Tomdispatch.com On September 29th, power in Afghanistan changed hands for the first time in 13 years. At the Arg, the presidential palace in Kabul, Ashraf Ghani was sworn in as president, while the outgoing Hamid Karzai watched calmly from a front-row seat. Washington, congratulating itself on this “peaceful transition,” quickly collected the new […]

Afghanistan

Listening to Nobelist Malala Yousafzai instead of just Honoring Her

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole Malala Yousafzai has become the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in history, sharing it this year with India’s Kailash Satyarthi, a children’s rights activist. Ms. Yousafzai, from Pakistan’s picturesque Swat Valley, was shot in the head by a member of the Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan (TTP or Pakistani Taliban Movement) two […]

Afghanistan

Syria to Afghanistan: US Military Policy hasn’t Solved the Zone of Crisis & may Enlarge it

contributors

By Amin Saikal, author of Zone of Crisis: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq The Middle East and its wider eastern environs are in the grip of multiple humanitarian and geopolitical crises. The entire region from Pakistan and Afghanistan to Iraq and Syria to Palestine and Libya is shattered by more violence than usual and long-term […]

Afghanistan

13 Years after US started Bombing it, Afghanistan Still Unstable

contributors

News Analysis: Afghan Deal Leaves Room For National Disunity By Frud Bezhan via RFE/RL After months of wrangling and high tension, Afghanistan has finally named a president-elect. Ashraf Ghani's name was officially entered into the books as the winner of the highly contentious, fraud-marred contest, shortly after he and his rival, Abdullah Abdullah, signed a […]

Democracy

Democracy, in India as elsewhere, is not a tyranny of the Majority

contributors

It’s Not About The Numbers There is a broader—and deeper—meaning to democracy. Part of that ideal is the idea that every tessera in the mosaic can sparkle. By Gyanendra Pandey Democracy, it is commonly said, is the rule of the majority. Majoritarianism intensifies this belief with the proposition that those constituting the majority should make […]

Afghanistan

Families of Afghan Civilians Killed by US/NATO Cannot get Justice

contributors

By Bruce Pannier via RFE/RL Amnesty International has released a report documenting the inability of the families of Afghan civilians killed in attacks by U.S. and other foreign forces to obtain justice. The report, titled “Left In The Dark,” calls on the Afghan government to ensure that accountability for unlawful civilian killings is guaranteed in […]

Afghanistan

Weapons paid for by US are Missing in Afghanistan: Did they go to the Taliban?

contributors

By Luke Johnson via RFE/RL Weapons bought and paid for by the United States for Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) have gone missing, according to a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction released on July 28. The Department of Defense has provided the ANSF with 747,000 weapons since 2004 for approximately $626 […]

Afghanistan

Will Afghanistan Break up Too? Abdullah Threatens Rival Gov’t As Kerry Raises “Concern”

contributors

By Charles Recknagel As disappointed Abdullah Abdullah supporters label Afghanistan's early election results a "coup d'etat," there is every reason to take seriously their threats to form a parallel government rather than accept one led by rival candidate Ashraf Ghani. This is because Abdullah is part of a powerful network that has both the political […]