In the Media - Program for Culture and Conflict Studies
In the Media
4 Contenders Emerge to Lead Taliban
Taliban has began discussing replacement of Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, insiders say — a choice that could spark furious... read more at the Daily Pakistan Observer
Who Will Lead Taliban Next? Four Contenders Emerge
As the Taliban collected the body of its slain leader on Monday, the insurgent group also began discussing his replacement, insiders say — a choice that could... read more at the Center on International Cooperation
A year in the US: Social turmoil, violence and historic change
President Barack Obama broke two major taboos in US foreign policy this year: he re-established diplomatic ties with Cuba... read more at Deutsche Welle
Afghanistan And The Taliban, Again
US-trained Iraqi troops fell like a house of cards when ISIS hit the country. Fled Mosul. Syrian fighters... read more at On Point
The terrorists behind school shootings supported from Kabul
Afghan intelligence, in cooperation with the Indian intelligence, supports Taliban groups in Pakistan... read more at Dagsavisen (translated by Google)
Endgame in Afghanistan
The rifts among Taliban factions had been growing for some time, bubbling up as the deception over their leader’s death continued... read more at The Cipher Brief
A Closer Look At The Pakistani Taliban
Pakistan’s military is calling on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take a tougher stance against terrorists, including more punitive... read more at Here and Now
Analysts See Promising Trends in Afghan Election
While uncertainty remains over the outcome of the Afghan election, analysts say the vote is showing... read more at Voice of America
How To Leave Afghanistan
Surveillance video out of Afghanistan shows the US soldier who allegedly shot sixteen Afghan villagers on Sunday walking back up to his base after... read more at On Point
The Fog of Peace
Afghanistan policy, like Vietnam policy before it, has taken on a life of its own, impervious to ground truth. The simple reality is that "peace talks" with the Taliban have... read more at Foreign Policy
Gordon Campbell on the only foreign policy in this campaign
Ten years ago come Saturday, the Taliban fled Kabul as the US–led forces of Operation Enduring Freedom reached the gates of... read more at Scoop
Afghan National Army prepares for life after Nato
In many ways the platoon of soldiers heading into... read more at The Guardian
Afghan politician asks for SAS to be more involved in security
The Deputy Speaker of the Afghan Parliament, Khalid Pashtoon, wants international troops like New Zealand's SAS to be more involved in... listen at Radio New Zealand
Mission called flawless
You could probably hear the gunfire from the raid that took down Osama bin Laden from the campus of Pakistan's national military academy, said Tom Johnson... read more at the Monterey Herald
Bin Laden’s Gone, What’s Next For The U.S And Afghanistan?
The United States went to war in Afghanistan explicitly to deal with the terrorism threat from al-Qaida. Now, al-Qaida leader... read more at On Point
Robert Gates’ Pentagon Legacy: Unfinished Wars, Unfinished Budget Reform
When President George W. Bush put... read more at The Huffington Post
U.S. strategy in Afghanistan likened to disastrous Soviet invasion
The American-led war in Afghanistan is heading toward an outcome similar to the disastrous Soviet... read more at iPolitics
Poetry as a Weapon of War in Afghanistan
According to two new reports, the Taliban is defeating the United States when it comes to winning Afghans' hearts and minds with propaganda... watch at PBS
Transition to nowhere: The limits of “Afghanization”
The strategy of having the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) take over the security burden from the U.S and NATO forces is now a centerpiece of... read more at Foreign Policy
Pashtun hard-core rap: A report on the messages carried in Taliban chants
There’s an interesting article on Taliban chants in the new issue of Small Wars and Insurgencies by... read more at Foreign Policy
High times for Iranian drugs mafia
Southwest Asia's robust illicit-narcotics industry is usually associated with Afghanistan, a narco-producing... read more at Asia Times Online
The Transforming Threat of Southwest Asia's Narcotics Industry
On Oct. 17, Iranian border guards clashed with drug traffickers on the wild Iran-Afghan frontier and subsequently... read more at World Politics Review
Supply route may decide outcome of Afghan war
If countries were rated on how tough it is to fight wars on their soil, Afghanistan would come close to the top of the list... read more at the Toronto Star
Fatalities escalate in Afghanistan war
The U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan passed a grim milestone Friday, when the deaths of several service members... read more at the San Diego Union-Tribune
Troops seek to replicate gains made in Afghan village
In June 2009, then commander of international forces in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChrystal hailed the counterinsurgency strategy employed by... read more at Stars and Stripes
NSA Students Design “Afghanistan-in-Your-Hand” Smart Phone App
While smart phone apps can put a map in your hands, two Naval Postgraduate School students have designed one that puts a whole country in your hands... read more at Naval Postgraduate School
The Afghan-American Future
Afghan President Hamid Karzai was in the Oval Office this morning on his “make nice” tour of... read more at On Point
Bomb Attempt Puts U.S.-Pakistan Ties In Spotlight
From the time it became clear there was a Pakistan connection to Saturday's attempted bombing in Times Square, there seemed to be a concerted effort by... read more at NPR
Opium, the CIA and the Karzai Administration
Alfred McCoy's important new article for TomDispatch (March 30, 2010) deserves to mobilize Congress for a serious revaluation of... read more at the History News Network
Opium and the CIA: Can the US Triumph in the Drug-Addicted War in Afghanistan?
Alfred McCoy’s important new article deserves to mobilize Congress for a serious revaluation of ... read more at Global Research
Behind Karzai’s war of words
You’re Hamid Karzai. You’re fed up. And you’re not going to take it any more... read more at the Toronto Star
US Strategy in South Asia: Is It Really Working?
It's been reported that remote-controlled US drones have devastated the top leadership of the Taliban and al Qaeda in Pakistan... listen at KCRW
Afghanistan experts at USF symposium agree on one thing: Things don't look good
Almost nine years into the war in Afghanistan, there's still no guarantee of success or even much agreement on... read more at Tampa Bay Times
Critic: Afghan Offensive A 'Public Affairs Exercise'
A scathing article in the latest Foreign Policy magazine calls the military offensive into Afghanistan's Marjah region "essentially a giant public affairs exercise, designed to shore up dwindling domestic... read more at NPR
What Huge Marja Assault Reveals About Afghan War
In mid-February, a thousands-strong joint U.S. and Afghan force began the assault on Marja, an Afghanistan town said to be... read more at The Wire
Down the AfPak Rabbit Hole
The release of Tim Burton’s new blockbuster movie, Alice in Wonderland, is days away. The timing could not be more appropriate... read more at Foreign Affairs
The arrest of Taliban No2 could mark a turning
The arrest of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Afghan Taliban military leader, could represent a turning point in... read more at La Presse (translated from French)
Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar: a 'formidable foe'
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is believed to have been in day-to-day command of the Taliban's Afghan insurgency since its... read more at The Telegraph
Gunfights Mark Third Day of Offensive in Southern Afghanistan
Firefights erupted in the southern Afghan town of Marjah on Monday, where Marines and Afghan forces are battling insurgents as part of... read more at PBS Newshour
Iran's 30-Year War on Drugs
Over the past 30 years, the poisonous effects of Afghanistan's narcotics industry have steadily transformed Iran's law enforcement and border... read more at World Politics Review
What will deal with Taliban mean for Afghan women?
In case anyone has forgotten the brutal and cheerless days of Afghanistan's Taliban state in the nine years since the reign of terror ended, there's a... read more at the Toronto Star
Obama and Afghanistan: America’s Drug-Corrupted War
The presidential electoral campaign of Barack Obama in 2008, it was thought, “changed the political debate in a party and... read more at Global Research
'Model' district no safe haven
They were doing everything right – but something went fatally wrong. The five Canadians who... read more at the Toronto Star
National police Canada's problem in Afghanistan
From a rocky slope above a village in southern Afghanistan last February, Canadian Forces engineer Matt Austin watched a Taliban suspect... read more at the Toronto Star
Obama is wrong: this is his Vietnam
Vietnam is getting worse every day," President Lyndon B Johnson once confessed to his wife. "I have the choice to... read more at the New Statesman
Vietnam in the Hindu Kush? A Reading Assignment
On November 4, 2009 I was a participant in the latest of Boston University’s semiannual “Great Debates.” The debate question was... read more at The Huffington Post
Afghanistan: Is the 'Surge' Feasible?
How quickly can the afghan army stand up, so American troops can stand down? It's a question that could determine the success or failure of... read more at Newsweek
Troop surge no guarantee of success
First the good news: President Barack Obama's expected plan to boost U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan by about 32,000 will... read more at the Toronto Star
Coalition nears turning point in Afghan mission
The war Brig. Gen. Jonathan Vance found himself fighting was a small one. Under his command, Canadian troops in... read more at CTV News
Next Steps in Afghanistan
As President Obama meets with military and diplomatic officials about how to proceed in Afghanistan, continued violence... listen at KQED Radio
Defining 'The Enemy' In Afghanistan
Before American commanders and policymakers settle on what to do next in Afghanistan, they need to agree on whom they are fighting... read more at NPR
Painting Democracy on Afghanistan
After weeks of high-level diplomacy between Washington and Kabul, Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed to a November 7 runoff election with... read more at the Council on Foreign Relations
Afghan Theatre Conference Aims to Impact Strategies in the Field
”Are we faced with something unique in Afghanistan, something that challenges our entire strategic paradigm?” That question, posed by NPS Defense Analysis Professor John Arquilla... read more at NPS
University Experts Brief Canada’s New Afghanistan Task Force Commander on Winning ‘Mission Impossible’
Only days before Lt. Gen. McChrystal released his strategic reassessment of the war in Afghanistan, the about-to-be commander of... read more at NPS
Saigon 2009
For those who say that comparing the current war in Afghanistan to the Vietnam War is taking things too far, here’s a reality check... read more at Foreign Policy
Democracy in Afghanistan is wishful thinking
As the world watches today's presidential election in Afghanistan, Americans would do well to ponder the lessons of Vietnam... read more at the Christian Science Monitor
SOS Afghanistan – Are the SAS on a doomed mission?
n August 20th Afghanistan will hold a general election that is deemed virtually certain to return Hamid Karzai and his... read more at Werewolf
In The Graveyard Of Scholarship
Much rubbish is published in all fields of thought all the time. But Seth Jones’ topic is not, say, Chinese porcelain of the 15th century... read more at Forbes
Meet the Taliban's New Chief
If you thought the longtime head of the Taliban was bad, you should meet his no. 2... read more at Newsweek
Experts divided on Obama's new Afghanistan strategy
Nearly two weeks into a major U.S. offensive, experts here remain divided over whether U.S. President Barack Obama's new Afghanistan strategy will... read more at Xinhua News
Afghan strategy architect slams failure to grasp locals
International forces have failed to quash the insurgency in Afghanistan because they have failed to understand the Taliban's... read more at CTV News
Obama's Strategy for Afghanistan
President Obama just unveiled his strategy for Afghanistan. The Post asked politicians and experts to weigh in. Below are contributions... read more at The Washington Post
Six Experts on Negotiating with the Taliban
Earlier this month, President Obama proposed (NYT) the controversial notion of reaching out to moderate elements of the Afghan Taliban... read more at the Council on Foreign Relations
Applying Iraq's broader lessons in Afghanistan
As the United States and NATO craft a new strategy for Afghanistan, they are likely to apply counterinsurgency lessons learned at great cost during the war in Iraq... read more at the SF Gate
Mobilizing Afghan Militias
Empowering supposed "tribal militias" in Afghanistan as a means to defend areas outside of the immediate control of Afghanistan's... read more
Proceed with Caution on Afghan Tribal Strategy
With attacks against Afghan civilians and soldiers of the international coalition rising, the U.S. military is searching for a new strategy to... read more at Council on Foreign Relations
All Counterinsurgency Is Local
June was the deadliest month for the U.S. military in Afghanistan since the invasion in October 2001. July became... read more at the Atlantic
What’s Wrong with U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan
A military analyst on what's wrong with U.S. strategy... read more at Newsweek
Talking to the Taliban
Understanding the insurgents is a basic part of reporting on the Afghan war, but it's a remarkably difficult task... read more at The Globe and Mail
U.S. Tracks Pakistani Tribal Leader's Rise to Power
In testimony Wednesday on Capitol Hill, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said new terrorist attacks in the United States and... read more at NPR