AfghanistanicaAfghanistanicaAn exploration of Afghanistan-related issues. 
Articles
Canadian Prime Minister Betrays The West In Afghanistan
2007-05-23 23:16:00 May 23, 2007. In a shocking act of rank treachery, the Canadian PM Stephen Harper betrayed the West while on an unannounced trip to Afghanistan . The proof of my claim is in the photo below where Harper presents Karzai with a set of baby pajamas (or a jumper or romper if you will) for his newborn son Mirwais. Why is this a gross betrayal? look at the logo on the baby suit. It’s that of the Ottawa Senators, an ice hockey team from eastern Canada (spit on ground). The Prime Minister is from the western Canadian province of Alberta. He is a native prairie son. And furthermore, Alberta has two hockey teams: the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames. This is where the betrayal of the west comes in to the picture. Why not bring a gift for Karzai’s baby that is branded with a logo of a western Canadian hockey team? So yes, that is how he betrayed the “West.” I used to think he was an honourable man. But no longer do I believe that. He is clearly subservient to the...
Khareji Gone Wild! Drunk Americans Louts and Frisky British Tomcats Paint K
2007-05-20 06:46:00 May 20, 2007. So apparently foreigners are behaving badly and partying too much. And I’m not talking about the Saudis on the Riviera. Journalist Jean MacKenzie took in a “foreigner only party” and gives details on her entertaining and informative Afghan blog. Here are some amusing excerpts: I spent one unfortunate Thursday evening at l’Atmosphere, where I found a group of twenty-somethings betting, far more loudly than was healthy, on who would be the first to “break the barrier” – which meant, I was told, getting an Afghan into bed. I had to go home and take a shower after that one. Once the restaurants start to close, the crowds move to the private parties that spring up like brush fires in various locales. The goal of party behaviour is simple: get as trashed as possible, as quickly as possible, and try to pair up for the weekend ahead. By three in the morning, it looks like Noah’s ark. As it was, all you needed was a foreign passport. I was soon draw... More About: British , Wild , Drunk , Gone , Americans
Counterinsurgency and the Training of the Afghan National Army
2007-05-19 08:28:00 May 19, 2007. I just finished reading a report on the formation and ongoing training of the Afghan National Army . The author, an Italian PhD at the London School of Economics’ Crisis States Research Centre named Antonio Giustozzi, provides an excellent analysis for the first five years of the Afghan National Army. “Looking good boys, looking good. Now if only looks could kill.” The ANA, if you don’t know already, was formed on the quick because 1) anti-Taliban/anti-AQ militias were useless and 2) the power of the Afghan government outside of Kabul needed to be increased without foreign troops stepping on local strongmen feet. But things haven’t gone exactly to plan and Giustozzi explores that fact. Antonio Giustozzi may not be a dedicated military scholar or COIN specialist, but he does provide an informed historical perspective, with long years of research on Afghanistan. And his ongoing research is all centered on conflict in Afghanistan. [IMO, he&rsquo... More About: Training , Surge , Count
Scholarly Afghanistan Blogs
2007-05-17 21:00:00 May 17, 2007. Expert analysis on Afghanistan ? From a blog? The answer is “Yes.” There are a few blogs out there that offer a high quality of analysis on Afghanistan and also have some sort of graduate diploma on the wall. And accordingly their analysis reflects a high level of scholarship. Pic: “Have you perused my Afghanistan blog?” These blogs would be Péter Marton’s My State Failure Blog, Bonnie Boyd’s Central Asia Blog, Carl Robichaud’s Afghanistan Watch, Peter from Downunder’s The Strategist, and Civil-Military Relations. I’ve linked to their “Afghanistan” category where applicable. My State Failure Blog, or MStFB, is described as a blog for scholars and students of International Relations and other social science disciplines. The author, Péter Marton, is a PhD student of International Relations at the Corvinus University of Budapest where his dissertation topic is state failure. Péter previously had led re... More About: Blogs , Hola , Logs , Ghan
Totally out of context quote #11
2007-05-16 23:40:00 May 16, 2007. “the gist of it is this: chai good, Afghanistan good, Pakistan bad, Osama in Pakistan, Osama in Islamabad, a hand-gestured demonstration that we should bomb Islamabad, and American snuff makes their heads spin.” Context : Afghan National Army soldiers and an American Embedded Tactical Trainer (ETT) find themselves without a translator. Nevertheless the Afghans manage to convey their opinions on the important issues of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Al Qaeda and chewing tobacco. This quote is from the Afghanistan milblog Bill and Bob’s Excellent Afghan Adventure, which is quite good and regularly updated. As a soldier embedded with Afghan troops the author of this blog has a much higher level of interaction with locals, which makes for rather interesting blog entries. Also, the soldier is from Cincinnati. This may explain why he went out of his way to volunteer to go to Afghanistan. I unknowingly went to Cincinnati right after the riots. I think Afghanistan may actually b... More About: Total , Quote , Ally
The Silent Campaign of Assassinations in Afghanistan
2007-05-16 06:22:00 May 16, 2007. So who is killing all the former Hizb-i Islami commanders? Over the last year and a half nearly twenty members of parliament or provincial councils have been assassinated. And in the last several months a number of high-profile assassinations have occurred. I call it a “Silent Camp aign ” because of the lack of concern that it is causing in the West, and in much of Afghan society as well. The most recent high profile killing was that of Abdul Sabur Farid, an appointed senator and former Mujahideen era Prime Minister from the northern province of Kapisa. This was soon followed by the killing of a former commander who had operated on the Shomali plains north of Kabul. And only a little while earlier Bashir Baghlani, a former Taliban-appointed governor of Baghlan province, was a victim of a “mysterious death.” What these three all have in common is that they are all former Hizb-i Islami senior level commanders who operated in the north. [Note: often ... More About: Afghanistan , Assassination
Farewell Dadullah! Hello Ambiguity!
2007-05-15 20:58:00 May 15, 2007. First things first. Apparently some people miss their dear Dadullah (sort of). Here’s a sample: Na’am, the Mullah Mujāhid was martyred: Mullah Dādullāh (rahīmahullāh). May Allāh accept him amongst the Shuhadā. Amīn. While the enemies of Allāh Ta’āla rejoice over his death with wine, we, the believers in Allāh, rejoice over his martyrdom with joyful tears and sincere du’ā. “…rejoice over his death with wine…?” The news came out on Sunday morning. Personally, I rejoiced over a cup of bad home-brewed coffee. But I can see it: American good ol’ boys uncorking a bottle of vintage 1986 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac at 10am on a Sunday. So it turns out both sides are happy about Dadullah’s death. If you want more of the above go visit these angry guys. Their most recent blog entry is “How to Refute a Christian in One Minute.” Turns out the advice is only good for refuting 6 year-old Catholics with ... More About: Hell , Farewell , Hello , Fare , Well
Too Close to Bush for Comfort?
2007-05-15 07:06:00 May 15, 2007. Take a close look at the seating arrangements at the lunch table: Ok, so Condoleeza Rice is sitting next to Karzai and Yunis Qanuni is playing with his napkin. But look two spots to President Bush ’s left: it’s the Emir of Herat - the Slayer of the Soviets - the Warlord of the West - the alleged puppet of Iran - the fomer Mujahideen, the esteemed Minster of Energy (or Darkness depending on who you ask) Ismael Khan! Well, are you as psyched about this as I am? Why not? If you had got the two of them in a photo standing together it would hands down beat the “Elvis meets Nixon” photo. If you believed everything that has been alleged about Ismael Khan then you would be expecting him to jump over his neighbor and stab Bush with one of the three forks they give you for these fancy meals. The headline would read “The Emir of Herat Assassinates Bush With Salad Fork.” But, alas for the dislikers of Bush, Ismael Khan has retired to a cabinet ... More About: Close , Fort , Comfort
Revisiting the Airlift of Evil: A Blunder Via Pragmatism
2007-05-14 07:14:00 May 14, 2007. There was very little controversy when numerous sources revealed, over a two-month period from November 2001 to January 2002, that the Pakistani government had rescued possibly thousands of Afghan Taliban, Pakistani Taliban, Pakistani ISI and Army officers, Al Qaeda volunteers and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan members from the northern Afghan city of Kunduz. Defeated Taliban and Al Qaeda had fled to the city after losing battles across the north and many were negotiating surrender. But then something inexplicable happened. Over a three-day period Pakistani military planes made non-stop flights in and out of the Kunduz airport, which was controlled by the Taliban. So all the important commanders and Pakistanis escaped along a safe-flight corridor supposedly guaranteed by the Americans. Photo: This guy missed his flight to Pakistan. But he got another one to Guantanamo. Needless to say, many people were upset. Northern Alliance soldiers were livid, American soldiers ... More About: Evil , Visi , Visit , Lift , The A
Mullah Dadullah’s Death Is One Week Too Early
2007-05-13 17:30:00 May 13, 2007. So Mullah Dadullah is dead. NATO/USA/ANA/Afghan Police killed him. Apparently everybody gets credit for this one. But what really aggrieves me is the timing of his death in Helmand. It is one week too early. I’ll explain why below. My problem is that I had prepared a blog entry that I was going to post this week about Mullah Dadullah. Basically, it said that unlike Mullah Omar and others in the top leadership echelon of what’s left of the Taliban, Dadullah is a true field commander. He prefers to be in the action, not staying back at Taliban HQ, which is usually some guy’s guest room. And as such, I expected him to die violently in Afghanistan, if not in battle, at least near the field of operations. Cartoon by Matt Weems You believe me, don’t you? I guess I’ve been punished for procrastination. I could have been that guy who predicted, quite accurately, the demise of the Taliban’s #1 field commander. Instead I’m the lying b... More About: Death , Week , Early , Earl
Faulty Intelligence and Civilian Casualties
2007-05-12 20:18:00 May 12, 2007. One reporter noted that one of the recent bouts of civilian casualties in Afghanistan might have been the result of deliberate misinformation by “tribal rivals.” Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. I would hope that NATO/US troops are no longer falling for this BS. I’ve heard that they have become quite skeptical about local information and are especially wary of walk-in informers. I imagine that they just don’t have the time and resources to follow up on every report. I would also hope the situation is not as bad as late 2001/early 2002 when on the say-so of some random guy the Americans wiped out a convoy of tribal leaders on the way to a (the?) Jirga. Turns out they were not Al-Qaeda. And once a Shura-yi Nazar commander tried to get the Americans to call in an air strike on…..Americans, plus a few of his regional rivals who were accompanying them. Apparently he insisted they were all Taliban and Al-Qaeda. So allow me to translate the information provided b... More About: Intelligence , Fault , Civil , Casual , Casualties
Debbie Does Kabul
2007-05-10 05:52:00 You know the same old story: female American ex-prison guard/hair dresser escapes abusive traveling protestant minister husband by going to Afghanistan, opening a beauty academy and marrying a “warlord” affiliated to Rashid Dostum. There was a documentary made about the beauty academy and now the woman in question, Deborah Rodriguez, has written a book about her experience. The book is apparently full of amusing or tragic anecdotes: Debbie punches out an Afghan man who gropes her in the bazaar (if you knew about Michigan girls you would not attempt to grope them), the Ministry of Women’s Affairs tries to close the school due to excessive laughter, Debbie’s husband sees her off to Afghanistan by expressing his wish that she die there, a Women’s Ministry representative flees in terror from her first encounter with a blow-dryer and her Afghan husband at one point tells her she can’t come into the living room because “there are warlords in here.” Ms. Rodriguez-Abdul Kh...
File Under: Afghanistan, Pegasus, France, Massoud, Nordic Angels, WTF?
2007-05-08 05:13:00 May 8, 2007. For your viewing bemusement via France , official home of the Ahmed Shah Mass oud fan club: I found this while searching for Massoud images to accompany the earlier blog entry about Massoud and iconography. I don’t know what I should think about this illustration, which is apparently from a book you can find for sale below. St. Ahmed, patron saint of French journalists indeed. Copyright : Monique Decamps, SACD, Ilustration Rudy Van Giffen. Found at: Massoud Djaniat School More About: Afghanistan , Angels , File
Afghanistan and the Qawm: An Important Yet Unknown Concept
2007-05-07 07:35:00 May 7, 2007. You must know this word: qawm (also transliterated as qaum or qowm). Apparently anthropologists are hoarding this word and not wanting to share it with others. But I’ll set it loose on the interweb so that the google may find it. But first… If you believe what you read in the media and what you see and hear on television then the fault lines and loyalties in Afghanistan are obviously apparent: ethnic groups and Islamic sects. Maybe if the media is feeling smart they will discuss Pashtun tribal loyalties as well. However, I’ll deal here primarily with attacking the idea of ethnic loyalties being a strong determining factor for mobilization and social organization on the ground in Afghanistan. Olivier Roy argues against assuming that all members of an ethnic group defined by its spoken language actually share a coherent identity with a “will to express themselves politically.” Many others agree that loyalties are strongest within local communities, not at a ... More About: Unknown , Know , Once , Concept
Totally out of context quotes #9 and #10
2007-05-06 19:22:00 May 6, 2007. “What was more important in the world view of history? The Taliban or the fall of the Soviet Empire? A few stirred-up Muslims or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the Cold War?” Context : Former US National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski speaking in the mid-1990s about American funding for the anti-Soviet Jihad and the rise of the Taliban. The quote is available all over the place with its date and context removed to make it seem as if Brzezinski is being quoted post 9-11. The earliest I can trace it back is to 1995 in Olivier Roy’s book Afghanistan: From Holy War to Civil War (Princeton University Press). But this quote is post- 9-11: “Had our leaders known that the cost of bringing down the Soviets would be over 3,000 dead Americans, the destruction of New York’s World Trade Center, an attack on the Pentagon, simultaneous embassy bombings in Africa, the disabling of the USS Cole and radical cells sprinkled across the globe operating agai... More About: Quotes , Total , Quote , Ally
Rambo Will Not Be Returning To Afghanistan
2007-05-05 20:45:00 May 5, 2007. If you recall the 1980s at all you will remember the movie Rambo III. In the movie Rambo goes to Afghanistan and thrashes the Soviets. It’s really quite simple. Of course, the movie was a huge hit in The USA, Pakistan and Afghanistan. So when I saw about 5 years ago that Rambo was considering a return to Afghanistan to fight terrorists I was sort of excited. But then the producers decided that the war was over and there was no need to send in Rambo. And now I see that Rambo has decided to harness the marketing power of Jesus. In the current Rambo movie, scheduled for release on May 2008, Rambo will be rescuing Christian human rights workers and their sympathetic ethnic Karen Christian friends from the evil Burmese (Myanmar) government. Oh well, at least Afghanistan has an indigenous Rambo. His real named (almost never used) is Jamaludin. He is an unarmed security guard who gained fame for beating down a would-be car-bomber at the entrance to a NATO base. Rambo... More About: Will , Return , Turn
The Five Iconographic Moods of Ahmed Shah Massoud
2007-05-04 06:56:00 May 4, 2007. Whitney Azoy, the anthropologist who wrote Buzkashi: Game and Power in Afghanistan, wrote a fascinating article on Ahmed Shah Mass oud, iconography and ethnicity. The article, titled “Masood’s Parade” (PDF), discusses the omnipresent (in Kabul) visual representations of Massoud. Azoy identified five different categories of emotional imagery for Massoud. I’ve done my best to find images that I think match up with Azoy’s descriptions. #1. “… grinning, easygoing…” #2. “…calm, almost majestic…” #3. “…at prayer…reverent and unguarded before God.” #4. “…beyond normal consciousness, lost in thought, bearing a sorrow too great for other men.” #5. “…expressionless, disciplined, relaxed, completely in command.” Unfortunately, Azoy noted that the Rambo-esque Massoud action posters of the 1980s are sadly no longer available. But, inshallah, I will track one down on ebay or in the bazaar. In a sidebar in his article Azoy disu... More About: Moods , Graphic , Five
Retractions and Apologies
2007-05-03 21:49:00 May 3, 2007. I haven’t blogged about myself before and I promise not to do it again after this. But it appears I have caused some consternation for a certain number of graduate students at Indiana University’s renowned Department of Central Eurasian Studies. Also, the story is sort of funny in an inside joke sort of way (take this as a warning that you may want to skip this blog entry). In this earlier blog entry I mocked a grad student at Indiana University who spelled “Afghanistan” wrong on his Master’s thesis paper title page. What an idiot! Anyways, some students at Indiana saw that blog entry and decided to indirectly attempt to remedy the situation. This is one of the emails that was forwarded to me by someone who thought it was all so funny. The redactions are mine, not the CIA’s. “Hey, So there is this blog online that covers issues on Afghanistan. Usually, it is pretty good. However, last week he posted a blog about how stupid IU studants are in CEUS [Indi... More About: Trac , Logies , Polo , Logi
Female Soldiers of the Afghan National Army
2007-05-03 00:02:00 May 2, 2007. First a picture from the bloggers over at Afghanistan Without A Clue. Her face is censored for her protection. Apparently she changes into her camo-hijab after arriving at the military base. I’ll bet $1000 she is a [name of ethnic group removed]. The only thing missing is a good pair of combat boots. More About: National , Female , Army , Male , Soldiers
Stewart of Afghanistan versus Lawrence of Arabia
2007-05-01 19:32:00 May 1, 2007. Time magazine has published a nice tidy little article on Rory Stewart , who I wrote about in my second most popular blog entry ever. I was annoyed that he had claimed Afghans want the return of the Russians. I was further annoyed by his endorsement of disastrous development mega-projects that destroy local cultures and treat people like minor annoyances to be brushed aside for the sake of “progress.” Thankfully, Rory Stewart has not been put in charge of any macro-development projects. Instead he founded the very worthy Turquoise Mountain NGO that focuses on training traditional artisans and craftsmen. In a reversal of the language he used in his questionable NY Times editorial, Rory Stewart had this to say about his NGO: “This is a development project that says ‘we respect your traditional culture, and we are going to put our resources and our technology and our knowledge toward supporting it,’ as opposed to a development project which says &lsquo... More About: Afghanistan , Lawrence , Versus , Arabia
Stewart of Afghanistan versus Lawrence of Arabia
2007-05-01 19:32:00 May 1, 2007. Time magazine has published a nice tidy little article on Rory Stewart , who I wrote about in my second most popular blog entry ever. I was annoyed that he had claimed Afghans want the return of the Russians. I was further annoyed by his endorsement of disastrous development mega-projects that destroy local cultures and treat people like minor annoyances to be brushed aside for the sake of “progress.” Thankfully, Rory Stewart has not been put in charge of any macro-development projects. Instead he founded the very worthy Turquoise Mountain NGO that focuses on training traditional artisans and craftsmen. In a reversal of the language he used in his questionable NY Times editorial, Rory Stewart had this to say about his NGO: “This is a development project that says ‘we respect your traditional culture, and we are going to put our resources and our technology and our knowledge toward supporting it,’ as opposed to a development project which says &lsquo... More About: Afghanistan , Lawrence , Versus , Arabia
The Israelis Are Coming!………To Afghanistan?
2007-05-01 02:56:00 April 30, 2007. Apparently the Spanish military bought a few UAVs (pilotless drones) from the Isra elis. OK, so what? Well, the Spaniards intend to use them for their NATO operations in Afghanistan . Hmm….getting interesting. Furthermore, the Spanish will need some technicians from the Israeli army to operate them in Afghanistan. Even more interesting, but not earth-shaking. Shalom Afghanistan! The Afghan newspaper Cheragh took the whole thing in stride and said that Afghans have other more pressing concerns and probably wouldn’t be that bothered. Just kidding. The journalists at Cheragh flipped out. Apparently the whole region will go up in flames. Afghans, the fragile bunch that they are, will be unable to function at all as long as this outrage is being perpetrated against them. Blah, blah, blah…. outrage, conflict, war, unbearable suffering, etc… I understand that some in Afghanistan will be a little preturbed that some Israeli hardware and a few Jewi... More About: Hell , Ghan , Ming
The Israelis Are Coming!………To Afghanistan?
2007-05-01 02:56:00 April 30, 2007. Apparently the Spanish military bought a few UAVs (pilotless drones) from the Isra elis. OK, so what? Well, the Spaniards intend to use them for their NATO operations in Afghanistan . Hmm….getting interesting. Furthermore, the Spanish will need some technicians from the Israeli army to operate them in Afghanistan. Even more interesting, but not earth-shaking. Shalom Afghanistan! The Afghan newspaper Cheragh took the whole thing in stride and said that Afghans have other more pressing concerns and probably wouldn’t be that bothered. Just kidding. The journalists at Cheragh flipped out. Apparently the whole region will go up in flames. Afghans, the fragile bunch that they are, will be unable to function at all as long as this outrage is being perpetrated against them. Blah, blah, blah…. outrage, conflict, war, unbearable suffering, etc… I understand that some in Afghanistan will be a little preturbed that some Israeli hardware and a few Jewi... More About: Hell , Ghan , Ming
Pashtuns as Victims
2007-04-30 02:11:00 April 29, 2007. The history of the modern Afghan state has in part been defined by the dominance of the Pashtuns and by their demographic and political expansion into non-Pashtun areas within Afghanistan. In this process, known as Pashtunization, ethnic Pashtuns displaced Hazaras, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Turkmen and others. During Pashtunization non-Pashtun land was confiscated, local leaders were “removed,” Pashtun settlers were moved in (forcibly or with incentives), excessive taxes were levied, minorities were denied a voice in government (as were many Ghilzai Pashtuns), Pashto was imposed on Dari and Uzbek speakers, some local communities were attacked and destroyed, etc… Photo: Abdur Rahman Khan, the architect of Pashtunization. I’ll save the full story for another day and include all the sources. I’ll just say for now that the only voice of scholarly dissent is Hasan Kawun Kakar. Although he is pretty lonely in making his claim that Pashtuns were the original inhabitants o... More About: Victims , Victim
Pashtuns as Victims
2007-04-30 02:11:00 April 29, 2007. The history of the modern Afghan state has in part been defined by the dominance of the Pashtuns and by their demographic and political expansion into non-Pashtun areas within Afghanistan. In this process, known as Pashtunization, ethnic Pashtuns displaced Hazaras, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Turkmen and others. During Pashtunization non-Pashtun land was confiscated, local leaders were “removed,” Pashtun settlers were moved in (forcibly or with incentives), excessive taxes were levied, minorities were denied a voice in government (as were many Ghilzai Pashtuns), Pashto was imposed on Dari and Uzbek speakers, some local communities were attacked and destroyed, etc… Photo: Abdur Rahman Khan, the architect of Pashtunization. I’ll save the full story for another day and include all the sources. I’ll just say for now that the only voice of scholarly dissent is Hasan Kawun Kakar. Although he is pretty lonely in making his claim that Pashtuns were the original inhabitants o... More About: Victims , Victim
New Afghanistan Blogs (But Why No Pashtun Blogs?)
2007-04-28 18:38:00 April 28, 2007. I thought I should point out two interesting blogs on Afghanistan that I’ve stumbled upon. Safrang and A*W*A*C were both very helpful in sending readers to my blog when I first started so it is only fair that I pass on the favour. The first of the two blogs is Mohammad Fahim Khairy’s blog. Mohammad, a student in Arizona, has some obvious political beliefs and he is quite out front in his blog entries about these beliefs. I think it is safe to assume that he is not Pashtun. Here’s a pic of the man behind the blog: This is what Mohammad has to say about himself: “I started to work with World Food Program Afghanistan in 1993 I became severely sick. Initially my symptoms included severe headaches, fever, and overall weakness of my extremities. As these symptoms got worse, my entire neck and left arm became paralyzed. I gradually lost the ability to move my limbs. Upon completion of my “treatment”, I was diagnosed with Guillain Barre... More About: Blogs , Logs , Ghan
New Afghanistan Blogs (But Why No Pashtun Blogs?)
2007-04-28 18:38:00 April 28, 2007. I thought I should point out two interesting blogs on Afghanistan that I’ve stumbled upon. Safrang and A*W*A*C were both very helpful in sending readers to my blog when I first started so it is only fair that I pass on the favour. The first of the two blogs is Mohammad Fahim Khairy’s blog. Mohammad, a student in Arizona, has some obvious political beliefs and he is quite out front in his blog entries about these beliefs. I think it is safe to assume that he is not Pashtun. Here’s a pic of the man behind the blog: This is what Mohammad has to say about himself: “I started to work with World Food Program Afghanistan in 1993 I became severely sick. Initially my symptoms included severe headaches, fever, and overall weakness of my extremities. As these symptoms got worse, my entire neck and left arm became paralyzed. I gradually lost the ability to move my limbs. Upon completion of my “treatment”, I was diagnosed with Guillain Barre... More About: Blogs , Logs , Ghan
The Great Abandonment: Could America Have Done More for Afghanistan?
2007-04-27 05:39:00 April 27, 2007. It’s an often-stated sentiment, inside Afghanistan and in America , that The United States abandoned Afghanistan to a horrible fate after the withdrawal of the Soviet troops and the fall of Najibullah. Many Afghans protest that they defeated the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and that defeat caused the collapse of the Soviet Union, and in return the Americans abandoned them. Pic: Afghanistan? Not a priority for these two guys. There is much truth to this. However, there is also much falsehood in it as well. I will deal with the misperceptions/falsehoods first: #1 The belief that the Afghan Mujahideen caused the collapse of the Soviet Union is confined to the Ronald Reagan fan club. Sovietologists and historians reject this idea. They argue that economic stagnation and rising nationalism caused the USSR to collapse. But this belief is an obvious source of pride to many Afghans and will likely persist. #2 Arguing that the problems of the post-Najibullah era (Civil War... More About: Great , Have , More
The Great Abandonment: Could America Have Done More for Afghanistan?
2007-04-27 05:39:00 April 27, 2007. It’s an often-stated sentiment, inside Afghanistan and in America , that The United States abandoned Afghanistan to a horrible fate after the withdrawal of the Soviet troops and the fall of Najibullah. Many Afghans protest that they defeated the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and that defeat caused the collapse of the Soviet Union, and in return the Americans abandoned them. Pic: Afghanistan? Not a priority for these two guys. There is much truth to this. However, there is also much falsehood in it as well. I will deal with the misperceptions/falsehoods first: #1 The belief that the Afghan Mujahideen caused the collapse of the Soviet Union is confined to the Ronald Reagan fan club. Sovietologists and historians reject this idea. They argue that economic stagnation and rising nationalism caused the USSR to collapse. But this belief is an obvious source of pride to many Afghans and will likely persist. #2 Arguing that the problems of the post-Najibullah era (Civil War... More About: Great , Have , More
Totally out of context quote #8
More articles from this author:2007-04-26 04:40:00 April 26, 2007. “I have written ten books over the last five years and over the last six months I have written a book on the bible which I hope will be printed soon. It will be called The Bible in the Light of the Qur’an.” Context : Renowned biblical scholar (and part-time Jihadi) Gulbuddin Hekmatyar discusses his book publishing aspirations, among other things, with Cheragh journalist Mr. Safi. From the March 6th edition translated by AfghanWire. Here’s a pic of “Engineer” Hekmatyar from an ealier time when he still had no gray hair. I’ll just be presumptuous and provide a bibliographical citation for the eagerly anticipated forthcoming book: Hekmatyar, Gulbuddin. 2008a. The Bible in the Light of the Qur’an: A Comparative Analysis from Somewhere Near the Durand Line. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. More About: Text , Total , Quote , Ally 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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