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Archives: Taliban

Are US troops in Afghanistan causing Talibanism?

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…

US Prepares for More Airstrikes in Afghanistan

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…

Afghanistan is now officially James Mattis’ war

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…

Is Trump planning permanent occupation of Afghanistan?

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…

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

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…

Trump flip-flops on Afghanistan, opts for Years-long Quagmire

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The 16-years-long Afghanistan War has bedeviled Washington decision-makers since the US invasion of fall, 2001, which came in response to the attacks of…

Trump’s Mulligan in Afghanistan: Mercenaries

By John Feffer | ( Foreign Policy in Focus) | - - Donald Trump loves to play golf. So far, he has teed off twice as many times as Barack Obama had…

Trump in a Firing Mood; is US Commander in Afghanistan Next?

Wochit News | (Video News Clip) | - - "U.S. officials said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump's doubts about the war in Afghanistan has led to a delay in completing a…

Not Winning in Afghanistan: Why?

By Solaiman M. Fazel | (Informed Comment) | - - Candidate Trump in his dynamic public rallies repeatedly criticized the former U.S. president for not winning anymore. Trump also mentioned, “If I’m…

Back to Quagmire: Beware endless US Troop Escalations in Afghanistan

By Danny Sjursen | ( Tomdispatch.com) | - - We walked in a single file. Not because it was tactically sound. It wasn’t -- at least according to standard infantry doctrine. Patrolling…

Popular Protest against US-backed Government in Kabul: What is going On?

By Solaiman M. Fazel | (Informed Comment) | - - Two days after a deadly blast in Kabul’s diplomatic quarter, why did thousands of residents and civil society activists participate in a…

Could public anger over Kabul Bombing shake Afghan Government?

By Frud Bezhan. ( RFE/RL) | - - How did a sewage tank truck packed with explosives penetrate a heavily fortified area of the Afghan capital and carry out the deadliest attack…

Is US Winning its Longest War? Huge Bomb Hits Kabul Embassy Row, kills at least 80

TeleSur | - - Health ministry spokesman Ismael Kawoosi said: "They are still bringing bodies, and wounded people to hospitals." A powerful vehicle bomb has hit the diplomatic area of the Kabul.…

How America’s Myth of the Infallible Generals gets us in Trouble

By Danny Sjursen | ( Tomdispatch.com) | - - More, more, more. I was guilty of it myself. Commanding a small cavalry troop of about 85 soldiers in southwest Kandahar Province back…

Taliban Attackers Kill at Least 140 Soldiers at Afghan Base: Officials

TeleSur | - - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani visited the base on Saturday, and in a statement condemned the attack as "cowardly" and the work of "infidels." At least 140 Afghan soldiers…

“Dear Nasemi: ‘I’m Sorry.'” (ICE doesn’t Keep out Afghan-American Coffins)

By Jonathan S. Addleton | (Informed Comment) | - - Dear Nasemi – I’m sorry. It is hard to believe that it was almost four years ago that we walked together along…

Afghanistan: We Lost a long Time Ago, and are Still at War

William J. Astore | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | - - America’s war in Afghanistan is now in its 16th year, the longest foreign war in our history. The phrase “no end in…

The Misuse of American Military Power and Mideast Chaos

By Danny Sjursen | (Tomdispatch.com) | - - The United States has already lost -- its war for the Middle East, that is. Having taken my own crack at combat soldiering in…

Afghan Women Take Up Arms Against The Taliban

By RFE/RL's Afghan Service The leader of a fledgling women's militia in northern Afghanistan says dozens of volunteers have joined the fight since a handful of women recently took up arms to…

What did we buy with the $5 Trillion that the Iraq & Afghanistan Wars have cost us?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - A Boston U. political scientist estimates that as of 2016, The Iraq and Afghanistan Wars have cost the American taxpayers $5 trillion. That…