If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
The U.S. has been financing both sides of the war in Afghanistan since 2001 as a startling percentage of foreign aid continues to flood Taliban coffers on a daily basis, according to Douglas A. Wissing in his new book.
When reading about the Afghanistan war, many people begin to conflate all Muslims with the radicals that we hear about on a daily basis. But what about this wonderful woman and her family and friends, who use Islam as a rich resource to promote peace?
As we begin to leave Afghanistan, are we fooling ourselves about what we are leaving behind or what we have promised the people of Afghanistan? Especially the women and girls?
Is misogyny prevalent and gaining traction in the Muslim world and why did most women vote for Islamists in Middle East elections?
In defending their book, the editors of Poetry of the Taliban also argue that there is a great deal of value in learning about one's supposed enemy, whether you're a military captain or a responsible civilian. Most people would agree. But is reading a book of Taliban poetry the right way to learn?
The Afghan wife of a good friend called not long ago and asked if I'd accompany her to a wedding in Kabul. I wondered why she wasn't taking her husband. "Oh it is much too dangerous for an American but you would be OK," she exclaimed cheerily.
After more than a decade of military occupation and trillions of dollars spent, the general environment in Afghanistan is extremely dangerous and unsafe, even in the capital.
Now that the glowing reports about how well Afghan Security forces performed in putting down last week's attacks in Kabul have died down, it's worth having a serious and honest discussion about what exactly we are about to leave behind in Afghanistan.
President Obama's arrival in Afghanistan and signing of the strategic partnership agreement with President Karzai supposedly represents yet another corner turned in our nearly eleven year (and counting) war.
The daring raid that took down Osama bin Laden was a triumph of American arms, satisfying retribution for al Qaeda's attacks on New York and Washington. But it points up the many mistakes we've made and continue to make in the wake of 9/11.
We are into the second decade of the "war on terror." It now ranges from the mountains of Afghanistan to the jungles of Colombia. It has dominated our lives since 9/11. Yet there is no measure of success to gauge progress or to say when it may end.
After going through 23 drafts, the United States and Afghanistan have at last inked a framework strategic partnership agreement to govern their collaboration past the promised 2014 withdrawal of foreign forces.
The Obama administration had an opportunity to make clear that it takes due process rights and international law seriously, and that, as the war in Afghanistan winds down, it plans to bring indefinite military detention without meaningful review, charge, or trial to an end.
Mr. Rashid's theory reflects a more abysmal picture for the future of Afghanistan. Does it mean that all educated Afghans will now have to reach out to the triumphant Taliban (in their office in Qatar) to attain an approval certificate of for their work?
As an anthropologist conducting research in Afghanistan, I find that whenever the gaze of the international media falls on Afghan women I feel uncomfortable.
I have no illusions about our ability to influence policymakers or help end the war in Afghanistan or the violence in Pakistan. But I'm concerned with doing whatever we can and we can achieve a lot more by taking initiative to talk and work together than by worrying and complaining.
