Afghanistan

The endemic problem of corruption may prove a stumbling block on the long road to stability

What if we Gave Seven Wars and No Americans Noticed?

By Andrew J. Bacevich | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – Consider, if you will, these two indisputable facts. First, the United States is today more or less permanently engaged in hostilities in not one faraway place, but at least seven. Second, the vast majority of the American people could not care less. Nor can it be […]

Afghanistan

Taliban target SecDef Mattis Helicopter in Kabul, hit Airport

contributors

TeleSur | – – U.S. forces responded with an airstrike but one of the missiles went off course in a “malfunction,” causing several casualties. Kabul’s airport has been attacked by militants during a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to Afghanistan. The U.S. responded to the attacks with an airstrike that killed multiple civilians, […]

Afghanistan

Are US troops in Afghanistan causing Talibanism?

Juan Cole

By Ann Jones | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – Here we go again! Years after most Americans forgot about the longest war this country ever fought, American soldiers are again being deployed to Afghanistan. For almost 16 years now, at the command of three presidents and a sadly forgettable succession of generals, they have gone […]

Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Pentagon Admits it Low-Balled Public on Troop Levels

contributors

TeleSur | – – The news comes prior to a boost in U.S. forces as part of Trump’s “new approach” to quelling the Afghan insurgency. In a rare step toward transparency, the Pentagon has revealed that about 11,000 U.S. troops are currently fighting in the 16-year-long war in Afghanistan, nearly a quarter more than the […]

Afghanistan

US Prepares for More Airstrikes in Afghanistan

contributors

TeleSur | – – The number of U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan has already dramatically spiked since Trump took office in January. Fighter pilots at the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan are preparing for more air attacks after President Donald Trump announced his plans for a new war strategy last week. After a months-long review […]

Afghanistan

Afghanistan is now officially James Mattis’ war

contributors

By Simon Reich | (The Conversation) | – – Donald Trump’s speech on his administration’s strategy in Afghanistan – in which he announced the introduction of an unspecified number of new combat troops, without a mission and without a specified end date, in a strategy that abandoned nation building but entailed war-fighting – clearly contravened […]

Afghanistan

Is Trump planning permanent occupation of Afghanistan?

contributors

By Reese Erlich | ( 48Hills | – – What will 4,000 more US troops do that 100,000 troops couldn’t do before? On my first reporting trip to Afghanistan, I was surprised to find that so many people supported the US invasion. They loved President George Bush because he got rid of the hated Taliban […]

Afghanistan

Trump’s Afghanistan Surge will Fail without Diplomacy, Anti-Corruption

contributors

By Solaiman Fazel | (Informed Comment) | – – Despite the campaign promise to distance himself from Afghanistan, President Trump has now publically taken ownership of America’s Longest War, 2001-Present. Trump’s decision not to completely withdraw the armed forces or subcontract the warfare to Blackwater (a private military company) are clever choices for the wider […]