South Asia

Plaque in the Church of St. John the Evangelist (the Afghan Church), Colaba, Mumbai (Bombay) (Photograph by Juan Cole, March, 2011) Interior of the church: (Photograph by Juan Cole, March, 2011) Number of US troops killed inside Afghanistan since 2001: 1776

Afghanistan

It’s Springtime in Kabul for the Taliban

Juan Cole

The Taliban kicked off their spring offensive with numerous coordinated attacks in the capital of Kabul and well as in some provinces. Aljazeera English has video: This sort of tactic makes a lot of noise, but typically has no practical benefit for a guerrilla movement. The Sunni Arab Islamic State of Iraq has been blowing […]

Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s Taliban – a differing view of drones (Woods)

Juan Cole

Chris Woods writes at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism: Scholars Alex Strick van Linschoten, 28, and 32 year old Felix Kuehn have swapped the musty libraries of London for the dusty streets of Kandahar, spiritual home of the Taliban. There the two have lived for almost five years, engaging with those many call the enemy […]

Afghanistan

The Afghanistan Syndrome (Engelhardt)

Juan Cole

Tom Engelhardt writes at Tomdispatch: The Afghan Syndrome Vietnam Has Left Town, Say Hello to the New Syndrome on the Block By Tom Engelhardt Take off your hat. Taps is playing. Almost four decades late, the Vietnam War and its post-war spawn, the Vietnam Syndrome, are finally heading for their American grave. It may qualify […]

Afghanistan

AH-64 Apache Helicopter Crashes in Afghanistan

Juan Cole

Apache helicopter crash in Afghanistan– incredibly no one was hurt. Apparently this video was leaked, and we don’t hear about woundings, crashes and other negative news in the US military in Afghanistan, only actual deaths. Unfortunately, our press doesn’t report much on even those deaths, and most Americans seem not to know or care that […]

Afghanistan

Why don’t we have better Reporting on the Afghanistan Army? It is our Best Hope for Getting Out

Juan Cole

With the Qur’an-burning scandal, the Panjwai massacre, repeated demonstrations against the United States, and Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai’s increasingly strident anti-American pronouncements, it seems clear that the US is likely to be withdrawing from that country soon. The Obama administration, its “counter-insurgency” strategy crafted by current CIA head David Petraeus in flames, still hopes for […]

Afghanistan

Afghanistan Massacre: Unstable Soldiers, Untreated Brain Injuries, PTSD

Juan Cole

AP is reporting that the staff sergeant who killed 16 Afghan villagers near Qandahar on Sunday morning had suffered a head injury in a vehicle incident in Iraq, before being deployed to Afghanistan. He had been “trained as a sniper.” Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, under pressure from the Afghanistan government of Hamid Karzai to […]

Afghanistan

Afghans to US Military: Be at Least a Little Ashamed

Juan Cole

This is one Afghanistan newspaper’s reaction today to the story of the massacre by a US staff sergeant of 16 villagers, including 9 children, near Qandahar. It is a medley of photographs of US troops in the country. Note that the source, Afghanpaper.com, in Dari Persian, is considered an “independent” news source by the US […]

Pakistan

Top 5 Stratfor Revelations

Juan Cole

Wikileaks is publishing internal memos of the Stratfor security analysis firm. A few tidbits have emerged in these very early days, to wit: 1. Up to 12 Pakistani active-duty and retired officers from the Inter-Services Intelligence agency knew that Usama Bin Laden was in Abbottabad and were in regular contact with him. The Pakistani chief […]