The security agreement signed in Kabul this week is being touted as a step toward stability and peace but it will likely bring neither. By allowing the U.S. to maintain military bases and forces in Afghanistan beyond 2014 it will prolong the war. Under current U.S. military strategy, which will be ratified at the forthcoming [...]
Archive for the ‘Afghanistan/Pakistan’ Category
The U.S. Afghan (In)Security Pact
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan, Counterterrorism on April 25, 2012 | 1 Comment »
End the War, Start the Peace
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan, Women's Rights on March 13, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
The madness of a futile military mission is reflected in the madness of a deranged soldier slaughtering innocent civilians near Kandahar. In the wake of this incident and the recent burning of the Qur’an at Bagram air base, any hope of winning hearts and minds is gone. Pressure is building for a more rapid withdrawal [...]
End the insanity in Afghanistan
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan on February 28, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
‘Green on blue’ is what the U.S. military calls it. Afghan troops shooting at their supposed American allies. It’s a horrifying threat to U.S. service members that has been growing in recent years. It has become an even greater menace now in the wake of public outrage over the burning of copies of the Qur’an [...]
Drones and the human cost of war
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan, Counterterrorism, Drones on January 24, 2012 | 2 Comments »
The debate about drones continues on the pages of Cato Unbound. You can check out the site and become part of the conversation here. In my most recent posting I counter Daniel Goure’s assertion that drones do not increase the temptation to intervene militarily. I and many others have argued to the contrary, that drones [...]
License to Kill
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan, Counterterrorism, tagged counterterrorism policy, drone, panetta, political solutions on January 10, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Do drone weapons make war more likely? Evidence suggests that countries may indeed be more inclined to use military force when they have highly accurate weapons that can be used without risking the lives of their service members. Drone warfare has become a centerpiece of U.S. counterterrorism policy. Secretary of Defense Panetta has called drone [...]
Why not give peace a chance in Afghanistan?
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan on November 9, 2011 | 2 Comments »
If there is no military solution to end the war in Afghanistan, as many agree, then a negotiated political agreement is the only way out. So what’s being done to advance the peace process? Very little, according to everyone we interviewed on a recent research trip to Kabul. The Kabul government’s peace and reconciliation process, [...]
Just Back from Kabul II: Women’s Rights
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan, Women's Rights on November 2, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Real progress has been achieved over the past decade in improving the status of Afghan women, especially in the areas of education and health care. Girls and women are now able to go to school and many are taking advantage of that opportunity. Access to health services and maternal care has improved substantially across the country. [...]
Just Back from Kabul
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan, Counterterrorism, Women's Rights on October 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Last week I traveled to Afghanistan as part of a delegation from the Dutch development agency Cordaid. I was there to update the findings of our report last year, Afghan Women Speak, and learn how the security transition and initial stages of Western troop withdrawal are affecting the prospects for peace and human rights. Entering [...]
Debating Drones: Convenient Killing?
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan, Counterterrorism, Drones on October 21, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Last week I was on The News Hour debating the question of drone weapons. Drone technology is spreading rapidly. As many as 50 countries are developing or purchasing these systems, including China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and Iran. Even non-state actors are involved. Hezbollah reportedly has deployed an Iranian-designed drone. Iran is developing a new drone warcraft with [...]
Afghanistan’s Funding Failure
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan on September 26, 2011 | 2 Comments »
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 [...]
