Long-overdue: Haqqani Network designated as terrorist organization
The New York Times today reports that the Obama administration has decided to designate as a terrorist organization the Haqqani Network, the most deadly faction of the Taliban movement responsible for...
View ArticleRestricting joint operations with ANSF: Major setback to mission in Afghanistan
The U.S. and NATO’s decision to restrict joint operations with the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) presents a major setback to the military mission in Afghanistan. The new rules call into...
View ArticleMullah Omar’s Eid message: Congrats on military victories
In his Eid message released today, Taliban’s reclusive leader Mullah Omar congratulated his followers on “this year’s unprecedented military victories” against the Coalition forces in the country:...
View ArticleAfghan pundits question ‘hasty’ transition
Last Friday, President Obama announced that most of US combat operations in Afghanistan would end this spring, signaling a quicker transition and troop withdrawal than planned. “Starting this spring...
View ArticleIran wields soft power in Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s former intelligence chief, Amrullah Saleh, has written an informative piece on the BBC Pashto website, explaining Iran’s soft power and hard power activities aimed at expanding the...
View ArticleObama’s speech an exercise in wishful thinking
“The Afghan War is coming to an end,” President Obama said this afternoon in a speech about the future of U.S. counterterrorism policy. “Today, the core of al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan is on a...
View ArticleThe myth of the ‘moderate’ candidate in Iran
There’s a myth in the West that if Ahmadinejad’s successor is “reformist” or “moderate,” he would improve Iran’s relations with the world community and potentially help resolve the country’s nuclear...
View ArticleKabul attacks show futility of talks with the Taliban
A group of heavily-armed Taliban fighters launched an attack against the military wing of Kabul International Airport early this morning, firing rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles in a...
View ArticleRepealing the Authorization for Use of Military Force will empower al Qaeda
Since 9/11, both the Bush and Obama administrations have used the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to target al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces in South Asia and the Middle East...
View ArticleHasty transition would jeopardize US gains in Afghanistan
At a ceremony in Kabul today, Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced that his country’s security forces had taken the lead for security across the country from the US and NATO coalition, marking a...
View ArticleTaliban’s hypocrisy in peace talks
Early this morning, a group of Taliban gunmen launched a sophisticated attack on the presidential palace and a nearby CIA base in Kabul, infiltrating into one of the most fortified security zones in...
View ArticleObama’s ‘zero option’ in Afghanistan is a recipe for disaster
The New York Times reports that President Obama is “giving serious consideration” to pulling out all US troops from Afghanistan next year because of growing tension with Afghan President Hamid Karzai....
View ArticleFor the White House, timeline trumps reality in Afghanistan
A new Pentagon report claims that Afghanistan’s security forces aren’t yet ready to protect the country against the Taliban and al Qaeda on their own and will require “substantial training, advising,...
View ArticleMullah Omar’s actions contradict his words
In his annual Eid message, Taliban leader Mullah Omar has called on his fighters to spare civilians and promised that his group will not monopolize power after foreign troops leave Afghanistan next...
View ArticleIran’s Revolutionary Guards send Afghan refugees to fight in Syria
In a new escalation of its sectarian involvement in Syria, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is reportedly training and sending scores of Afghan refugees (mostly Shi’ites) to fight...
View ArticleUS poised to repeat mistakes in Afghanistan
The New York Times reports that the American intelligence agencies are alarmed that if President Obama pulls out all troops from Afghanistan by this year’s end, the intelligence community could lose...
View ArticleSmall footprint jeopardizes gains in Afghanistan
Quoting administration officials, Reuters reports that the White House is considering keeping fewer than 5,000 troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014 – significantly less than the minimum 10,000 requested...
View ArticleAfghanistan braces itself for a risky runoff election
The Afghanistan election commission announced this morning that the second round of the country’s presidential vote would be held on June 14, after final results showed no outright winner in the first...
View ArticleTaliban readies for a comeback in Afghanistan
Taking advantage of foreign troops’ withdrawal and months-long election crisis in Afghanistan, the Taliban and its foreign allies have stepped up violence across the country to project power, seize...
View ArticleAfghanistan’s democratic transition: Hope and perils
Afghanistan today inaugurated a new president after months of election wrangling that threatened to trigger nationwide unrest and complicate the US withdrawal. Ashraf Ghani, a former World Bank...
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