Hamid Karzai

Karzai Orders Investigation Into Cousin Waheed Karzai's Slaying

AP | RAHIM FAIEZ | Posted 12.22.2009 | World


KABUL — Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday that he has asked the Interior Ministry to investigate the slaying of a young relative in a p...

The Oligarchy Wins Again!

Joseph A. Palermo | Posted 12.22.2009 | Politics


Joseph A. Palermo

The health reform bill the corporate oligarchy just purchased from the best Congress money can buy has investors stoked, as the soaring stock prices of health industry corporations reach a 52-year high point!

Peter Galbraith On The Record: Diplomat Explains Afghanistan Exit

Sphere News | Posted 12.21.2009 | World


On Thursday, the New York Times ran what it represented as a scoop: that I had plotted to oust Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai in September. In fac...

Peter Galbraith To Challenge Dismissal By U.N. After Afghan Vote

nytimes.com | JAMES GLANZ | Posted 12.18.2009 | World


Peter W. Galbraith, the American diplomat who was dismissed by the United Nations after exposing voter fraud this fall after the Afghan presidential e...

U.N. Officials: Galbraith Plotted To Replace Karzai

New York Times | JAMES GLANZ and RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. | Posted 12.17.2009 | World


As widespread fraud in the Afghanistan presidential election was becoming clear three months ago, the No. 2 United Nations official in the country, th...

The Year of the Man-Child

Catie Lazarus | Posted 12.16.2009 | Comedy


Catie Lazarus

What Did You Learn in 2009? Test your knowledge by answering these objectively scientific questions about the celebrities, politicians and fifteen minute famers who made headlines.

Obama's Nobel Lecture: Speaking Truth From Power?

Joseph A. Palermo | Posted 12.16.2009 | Politics


Joseph A. Palermo

Obama's Nobel lecture might have showed us that the US has reached a turning point: either the national security monster we've created is going to eat us alive by bankrupting the country or we're going to have to shift course.

Karzai: 'Afghanistan Will Not Be Able To Sustain A Force Of That Nature With Its Own Resources'

nytimes.com | MAUREEN DOWD | Posted 12.12.2009 | World


At a joint press conference Tuesday at the presidential palace in Kabul, Hamid Karzai surprised the usually unflappable Gates when he knocked down Pre...

Khazei, Karzai and My Lost Leaves

Carly Simon | Posted 12.10.2009 | Entertainment


Carly Simon

I was in the voting booth Tuesday night in Massachusetts. Usually I have managers and agents, but this day I wasn't prepared for no one telling me what to do.

Afghanistan and Pakistan: Anatomy of a Proxy War

Bob Churcher | Posted 12.10.2009 | World


Bob Churcher

Powerful elements in Pakistan will continue to support the Pashtun insurgency in Afghanistan no matter what Islamabad's government says or does. This is the core problem for Obama.

General David Petraeus Warns Of $10 Billion Per Year Afghan Security Cost

nytimes.com | MARK LANDLER | Posted 12.10.2009 | World


WASHINGTON -- America's involvement in Afghanistan could stretch on for years and cost upward of $10 billion annually just to finance an adequate Afgh...

Could Be a Late Night in Partystan

Rick Horowitz | Posted 12.09.2009 | Comedy


Rick Horowitz

"Daddy, have you seen the car keys?" "On the table near the door -- you're going already?" "I'm late -- I told Marisa I'd pick her up on the way ...

Karzai: Afghan Army Will Need Help Until 2024

AP | ANNE FLAHERTY | Posted 12.08.2009 | World


KABUL — After meeting Tuesday with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said it may be five years before his army ...

Afghanistan's Anti-Corruption Efforts Should Begin with Election Reform

Peter M. Manikas | Posted 12.07.2009 | World


Peter M. Manikas

If yet another election fails the Afghan people, prospects for establishing a credible, stable government will be severely damaged -- perhaps beyond repair.

No to Afghanistan? But Didn't We Say...?

Rick Horowitz | Posted 12.07.2009 | Politics


Rick Horowitz

Don't pretend that we haven't spent these past years shouting "Afghanistan! Afghanistan!" at every opportunity. And now that there's a president who's listened, who's reluctantly reached the very same conclusion, we say -- "Nevermind"?

The Surrealism of the Afghan Surge

Jeffrey Sachs | Posted 12.14.2009 | World


Jeffrey Sachs

Afghanistan is in urgent need of the basics for survival in one of the poorest countries on Earth -- seeds, fertilizer, roads, power, schools, and clinics -- much more than it is in the need of another 30,000 troops.

Some Straight Talk on Afghanistan

Mayhill Fowler | Posted 12.06.2009 | World


Mayhill Fowler

Marvin Weinbaum, a scholar-in-residence at the Middle East Institute and an Afghanistan expert who visited the White House during the months President Obama was crafting his new AfPak policy, recently spoke to a group of journalists.

Karzai: "We Must Talk To The Taliban"

AP | KATHY GANNON | Posted 12.04.2009 | World


KABUL — President Hamid Karzai put a brave face Thursday on President Barack Obama's decision to start pulling out troops in mid-2011, telling T...

Echoes of Bush in Obama's Speech

Lincoln Mitchell | Posted 12.02.2009 | Politics


Lincoln Mitchell

There were moments during the speech last night when if you closed your eyes, imagined the grammar a little mangled and a few words mispronounced, you could have easily been listening to President Bush.

Afghanistan: A Little Something for Everyone

Nick Mills | Posted 12.02.2009 | World


Nick Mills

President Obama's Afghan strategy is an attempt to give most stakeholders something to cheer about. Except in this situation the cheer sounds something like, "Well, yeah, okay, maybe...".

Questions Obama Has To Answer Tonight

Jon Soltz | Posted 12.01.2009 | Politics


Jon Soltz

By deploying an additional 34k troops, without speeding up the departure from Iraq, our force will remain overstretched. How does the administration reconcile this issue?

Obama, Karzai Discuss U.S. Strategy Over Videoconference

AP | HEIDI VOGT | Posted 12.02.2009 | World


KABUL — The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said Wednesday that NATO and U.S. forces will hand over responsibility for securing the country to...

Misreading Afghanistan

Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi | Posted 12.01.2009 | World


Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi

Both the United States and Great Britain have failed to confront the role that Pakistan's fear of India plays in its conflict with Afghanistan. And more troops will only worsen what is already a misunderstood situation.

US Bid To Bypass Karzai's Afghan Government Upsets Allies

guardian.co.uk | Julian Borger | Posted 11.30.2009 | World


The US is seeking to extend its control over the day-to-day running of Afghanistan with the appointment of an international "high representative" in K...

Advice to Karzai: Build Support To Bring Taliban Into Loya Jirga

Gerard Russell | Posted 11.30.2009 | World


Gerard Russell

Military force alone cannot roll back the Taliban's influence in Afghanistan. Karzai has promised a 'Loya Jirga,' a consultative gathering to discuss how to include the Taliban in the political system. But is the Loya Jirga going to be enough?