The government of Afghanistan and its armed forces are almost totally dependent on outside funding and could not survive without massive outside financial support from the United States and other donors. This was confirmed in a revealing report issued last week from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). The report was released quietly, but it [...]
Archive for September, 2011
Afghanistan’s Funding Failure
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan on September 26, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Time to Face the Facts in Afghanistan
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan on September 15, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
General David Rodriguez, recent commander of international forces in Afghanistan, claims in the current issue of Foreign Affairs that American troops have achieved “indisputable gains everywhere we have focused our efforts.” There are clear signs, the General writes, that U.S. and Afghan forces have “regained the initiative” and that the current counterinsurgency strategy is working. [...]
Reflections on the 10th anniversary
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan, Counterterrorism, Iraq and Iran, Nonviolence on September 9, 2011 | 1 Comment »
I’ve been invited to The Hague this week by the International Center on Counter-Terrorism for the presentation “Reflecting on the Effects of Counter-Terrorism Measures since 9/11: A Civil Society Perspective.” My talk focuses on the erosion of political freedom and human rights in many parts of the world resulting from repressive counter-terrorism measures. It feels [...]
