South Asia

Sen. Carl Levin of the Senate Armed Services Committee announced a report on Thursday on the way the private security contractors hired by the US military (even to guard bases!) are subject to little oversight, are corrupt, and sometimes pass on money or resources to what are essentially Taliban. That is, the US may be […]

Afghanistan

On 10th Anniversary of Afghan War, US Stymied in Pakistan, Forced to Negotiate with Taliban

Juan Cole

As the US/ NATO war in Afghanistan enters it’s 10th year, Washington is suddenly unable even to transport the supplies its troops need through the territory of its ally, Pakistan. Rather than enjoying a commanding position in Afghanistan, it faces a situation in which entire provinces in the Pashtun south of the country have fallen […]

Pakistan

4th Attack on Trucks Near Quetta, Pakistan

Juan Cole

Gunmen on motorcycles sprayed small arms fire at a parked US/ NATO fuel convoy near Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan and a long time center for the Old Taliban of Mulla Omar around 6 am Wednesday morning, killing at least one driver and setting ablaze around 20 trucks. The leaping flames threatened to destroy other […]

Afghanistan

28 More US Fuel Trucks Set Ablaze in Pakistan, 6 Killed, as Convoy Boycott Continues

Juan Cole

The Taliban Movement of Pakistan (Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan or TTP) claimed on Monday that it was responsible for yet another attack on NATO fuel trucks, this time near Islamabad. Some twenty trucks were set ablaze and 6 people were killed. The trucks were parked in a poorly guarded area near the capital, awaiting permission to […]

Pakistan

27 US Fuel Trucks Torched as Pakistan Blocks US Supplies at Khyber Pass for 2nd Day

Juan Cole

Tensions between the United States (‘NATO”) and the Pakistani government boiled over on Thursday and Friday after American helicopter gunships killed 3 Pakistani Frontier Corpsmen and wounded 4 others. The two countries are nominally allies in the battle against Taliban and other extremists, but Pakistan stands accused of being selective in which extremists it wants […]

Afghanistan

Update on German Terrorist Plot

Juan Cole

Update: The plot is alleged to have been hatched by young Muslim-German men who had been attending the same mosque in Hamburg where the 9/11 hijackers attended. Some of them went to northwest Pakistan for training, and one of them was captured in Afghanistan in July. A Mumbai-style attack is inexpensive and logistically unchallenging. If […]

Afghanistan

Major al-Qaeda Attacks on European Cities Said Foiled

Juan Cole

The FT reports that the intensification of US drone bombardment of suspected al-Qaeda positions in Pakistan’s tribal northwest in recent days appears to have been related to intelligence that the cells were planning to hit a number of Western European capitals with “Mumbai-style” random machine gun and bombing attacks. One of the drone strikes is […]

Afghanistan

Deputy Gov. Ghazni Killed;
Karzai Weeps, announces Peace Outreach Council

Juan Cole

Anti-government guerrillas attacked the convoy of the deputy governor of Ghazni province on Tuesday. According to Pajhwok, “Deputy governor of Ghazni province Mohammad Kazem Allahyar, his son, two of his nephews and a guard were killed in the attack in the provincial capital Ghazni, said Zamarai Bashary, spokesman for the interior ministry.” In an address […]

Afghanistan

Engaging the Muslim World Out in Paperback

Juan Cole

Today is the official publication date for the paperback edition of my most recent book, Engaging the Muslim World. Click here to purchase It is somewhat revised, taking some of the stories into 2010. Here is a link to David Sanger’s generous review of the book in the New York Times.