By Jenevieve Mannell | – The takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban has undoubtedly put women’s lives in danger and threatened their human rights in new ways. But if we want to help, we need to first understand that Afghan women’s lives were challenging long before the takeover. The threat of violence has long been […]
The history of the Taliban is crucial in understanding their success now – and also what might happen next
By Ali A. Olomi | – The rapid takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban left many surprised. To Ali Olomi, a historian of the Middle East and Islam at Penn State University, a key to understanding what is happening now – and what might take place next – is looking at the past and how […]
What is ISIS-K, the Organization that Bombed Kabul Airport?
By Amira Jadoon and Andrew Mines | – An attack on a crowd gathered outside Kabul’s airport on Aug. 26, 2021, has left at least 60 people dead, including at least a dozen U.S. Marines. ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the coordinated suicide bomb and gun assault, which came just days after President Joe Biden warned […]
The Taliban Religious Ideology is Blow-back from 200 Years of British Rule of India
By Sohel Rana and Sumit Ganguly | – Following the Taliban’s rapid taking of power in what it describes as a reestablished “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” fears of a certain kind of Islamist ideology being brought back have led a large number of Afghans to flee, or fear for their lives. The Taliban were known […]
The plight of Afghan security contractors highlights the legal and moral risks of outsourcing war
By Anna Powles | – ( The Conversation ) – By first denying and then granting visas to more than 100 Afghan contractors who guarded its embassy in Kabul, Australia has shone a light on the murky world of the private security industry. According to the lawyer and former army officer representing the security guards, […]
Where do Afghanistan’s refugees go?
By Tazreena Sajjad | – Images of thousands of Afghans desperately trying to flee their country following a hasty U.S. withdrawal have provoked an international outcry. As of Aug. 22, 2021, some 6,000 U.S. troops were working to evacuate U.S. military, American citizens and Afghans who are approved for Special Immigrant Visas. SIVs are a […]
Climate change: why government failure to act isn’t the problem
By Nick Bernards | – ( The Conversation) – The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report underscored the dire state of the climate crisis, concluding that “immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions” are needed to limit global warming even to 1.5°C or 2°C. The report renewed calls for urgent action […]
An Afghan American scholar describes his fear-filled journey from the chaos at Kabul airport to a plane bound for home in the US
By Hanif Sufizada | – Editor’s note: Afghan scholar Hanif Sufizada, who works at the Center for Afghanistan Studies at the University of Nebraska Omaha, got caught in Kabul during the chaos of the U.S. military pullout, when thousands of Afghans fled to the airport, seeking a way out of the country. Editor Catesby Holmes […]
Afghan troops sought safety in numbers – igniting a cascade of surrender
By Todd Lehmann | – The swift collapse of the Afghan military in recent days caught many in the U.S. by surprise, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In the months after President Joe Biden’s April 2021 announcement of the troop withdrawal, intelligence reports warned that the Afghan military might not fight […]
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