RSS Feed for AfghanistanCategory: Afghanistan

The Sorry State of Pakistan »

Osama bin Laden: killed and al Qaeda: on the run. That’s the balance sheet — more or less — that the U.S. has to share with the world. Meanwhile, its biggest ally in the War on Terror — Pakistan — has nothing to present except that its own people have been terrorized by militants, with [...]

Taliban Ramps Up Violence Against US In Aghanistan; Israeli Embassy Under Attack In Egypt *Updated* »

Update below the fold. In the midst of commemorations for 9/11/01, a day on which we remembered those who were killed, and reaffirmed the commitment to keep our nation safe, the Taliban was busy in Afghanistan. Our officials were concerned about a 9/11 attack – but we thought it would be on our shores, in [...]

“Waste Not, Want Not” »

The old Ben Franklin adage, is apparently one with which our government is unfamiliar. Just within the past few days, three major wasteful decisions have come to light. The first is in the State Department. This wasn’t just a wasteful decision, but an unethical, immoral, and I have to hope, illegal one. Within the State [...]

The anger worth $800 Million »

Only a year ago, the Obama administration decided to ramp up military support to the Pakistani army as part of an effort to persuade Islamabad to do more to combat militants. The new military aid, which was contingent on Congressional approval, was expected to amount to more than $2 billion over five years and would [...]

The Saudi Hollywood Makeover »

The tense relationship between Pakistan and the United States has often been described as a bad marriage. Like a couple teetering on divorce but frozen in mutually dependent inertia, the U.S. wants one thing while Pakistan wants another, at least most of the time. This love-hate relationship long precedes the September 11th attacks. The last [...]

Pakistan’s Urban Sprawl »

It’s surprising to many that the majority of Pakistanis support the Islamists and their apologists as the saviors of their religion. But this didn’t happen overnight. The mindset of the large segment of society didn’t change with a blink of an eye. No serious attempt has been made to analyse this phenomenon even though the [...]

Pak-US: Charlie Brown, Lucy and the Football »

One of the most familiar story lines in the beloved comic strip “Peanuts” involved malicious prankster Lucy holding a football and encouraging poor Charlie Brown to kick it. At the last moment, Lucy would pull the football away. Year after year after year, Lucy played Charlie Brown for a sucker. The football remained unkicked. So [...]

The Story On Navy Team 6 (& Open Thread) »

Bumped Up. Please note that Seal Team Six: Memoirs Of An Elite Navy Seal Sniper by Howard E. Wasdin and Stephen Templin is now available for pre-sale through Amazon.com. Just click on the book jacket cover to the right. In light of the recent operation in Pakistan by Navy Seal Team 6, I thought it [...]

Hoopla!! »

Bin Ladin is dead. Again. In the last ten years he has been reported “killed” at least four times. The only difference this time was that the President of the United States announced the death of the number one terrorist in the world. Above all, this time he was killed not in Tora Bora, not [...]

Osama bin Laden, Sleeps With the Fishes **UPDATED** »

Update below the fold. I had another post all ready to go this morning of Lara Logan’s interview on “60 Minutes,” but that can keep until tomorrow. Today, the big news, as President Obama announced late last night, Osama bin Laden has been killed. The reports have been a bit conflicting on just how he [...]

Killing Over One Torched Koran? **UPDATEDX2** »

* Bumped Up * Update below the fold. I could barely believe my eyes when I saw this headline, “Afghans Angry Over Florida Koran Burning Kill UN Staff.” This is not a joke. If it were, it would be a sick one, but the reality is much, much worse. Indeed, a mob of over 20,000 [...]

Hillary, Chelsea, And “Pet Rocks” »

(March 10, 2011 – Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images North America) The above photograph was taken at the Diller-von Furstenberg 2nd Annual Awards, as Chelsea presented her mother, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, with the first Inspiration Award. Some of the most poignant moments for me of the 2008 Campaign were to see Chelsea Clinton [...]

Let’s Talk Taliban »

Particularly, about the Taliban in Afghanistan and how it treats women. Now, I realize this might just seem like an “out of the clear blue sky” kinda thing, but trust me when I tell you it is not. (Photo by Steve Evans) First, I should say that before the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan, [...]

Bring it down a notch CIA »

The Islamabad station chief of the Central Intelligence Agency hastily departed from Pakistan last week after his cover was blown due to a suspected deliberate leak by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence. This act is the latest evidence of the tense relationship between the two spy agencies.  It is believed that his cover was blown in retaliation [...]

Arizona Included In Human Rights Paper By The State Department *UPDATED* »

To say I was shocked to learn that the State Department included Arizona in its section on Immigration in the paper the State Department presented to the Human Rights Commission. Surely, I misheard this. No way would the State Department include one of its own states on such a list to the United Nations. I [...]