MetaFilter posts tagged with afghanistan

Are nuclear weapons safe in Pakistan?

homunculus — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:44:09 -0800

Defending the Arsenal: In an unstable Pakistan, can nuclear warheads be kept safe?

Justice Denied: Voices from Guantánamo

gman — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:24:13 -0800

Released detainees talk about life during and after their unlawful detention in the video Justice Denied: Voices from Guantánamo which is part of an ACLU initiative against the practice of detention without due process that violates fundamental principles of American justice. (Previously)

"We Don't Want You Here"

HP LaserJet P10006 — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:44:38 -0800

The number of refugees from Iraq and Afghanistan seeking asylum in Europe continues to grow. Recently, despite criticism from the UN, deportations have begun. Most of those on a recent flight to Iraq were forced to return to the UK (the nationalities of some remains unclear, as does their fate). Furthermore, the move to deport has meant denying that Iraq and Afghanistan are each in a state of war.

David Rohde: Held by the Taliban

Merik — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:05:46 -0800

On a reporting trip to Afghanistan in November of 2008, New York Times reporter David Rohde and two of his colleagues were kidnapped by the Taliban. After being held captive for seven months in the mountains of Afghanistan and Northern Pakistan, David and one of his colleagues escaped in the middle of the night and made their way to freedom. He recounts the story in a five part series: Held by the Taliban. Part One: Kidnapped Part Two: The New Islamic State Part Three: Understanding the Captors Part Four: Through the Eyes of Jihadists Part Five: Escape Epilogue The intro for the series includes video summaries narrated by David Rohde. (previously)

Obama's War

kliuless — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:24:43 -0800

Frontline in Afghanistan
In a war that has lasted eight years, what is the way forward now? BONUS

On The Front Lines With Frontline - "Pakistan is more an enemy of the United States"
Exum vs. Bacevich - "my fundamental contention is that we have better things to do than to try to transform Afghanistan into something it has never been"
On the chain of command - "the time to adjust the strategy is as new evidence comes in"
Obama On Afghanistan - "doesn't sound like a major counter-insurgency"
To Beat the Taliban, Fight From Afar - "American and NATO military forces themselves are a major cause of the deteriorating situation"
Nation building - "for some reason we believe that American policy is capable of accomplishing things in Pakistan and Afghanistan that we would never dream it could do in Mexico"
Lessons Learned - "the ongoing debate within the Army between those who say the service must prepare for major combat operations and those who argue irregular wars are the future is a false one... war is art, not science... trying to prevail in current conflicts and preparing for other contingencies, between institutionalizing capabilities such as counterinsurgency and foreign military assistance and maintaining the United States' existing conventional and strategic technological edge"

lastly, to give my personal opinion, after watching this i'm pretty convinced that escalation in afghanistan would be a debacle...

43,000 Words Worth

gallois — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:16:10 -0800

43 photographs of Afghanistan provide a striking sense of personal identity to a conflict that is often remote and abstract.

Adam Curtis - Kabul: City Number One

robself — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 07:22:38 -0800

"I am researching the extraordinary history of the West's relationship to Afghanistan over the past 200 years. It is a very complex, and sometimes weird, story. These are notes on some of the characters and episodes involved." A work in progress by Adam Curtis - Kabul: City Number One. Part One, and Part Two.

Quagmire extraction

Burhanistan — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:19:39 -0800

Free Range International on Afghanistan: "What to Do?" Part 1 and 2 Free Range International "is for and by all those who know you need to get out, dismount, and visit with the locals to obtain real ground truth. We live and work “outside the wire” where we get a unique view. Ride along with us on our missions and adventures."

"Meet the Afghan Army: Is It a Figment of Washington's Imagination?"

Joe Beese — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:25:04 -0800

"Meet the Afghan Army: Is It a Figment of Washington's Imagination?"

"And they're not supposed to kill you while you're having chai with them"

Burhanistan — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:57:10 -0800

Afghan Lessons Learned for Soldiers - a collection of musings on life as a soldier in Afghanistan. It's on Blogspot but not much of a blog per se, more just a convenient place to post observations. There are currently two pages of posts. As a bonus for those interested in recent history in Afghanistan, be sure to bookmark/RSS Ghosts of Alexander.

Jonathan S. Landay reporting from Afghanistan

Joe Beese — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:14:07 -0800

We walked into a trap, a killing zone of relentless gunfire and rocket barrages from Afghan insurgents hidden in the mountainsides and in a fortress-like village where women and children were replenishing their ammunition.

"It is necessary to be bothered from time to time."

heeeraldo — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:38:08 -0800

"It is a scene from which many of us would naturally recoil, or at least avert our eyes: a grievously injured young man, fallen on a rough patch of earth; his open-mouthed and unseeing stare registering — who can know what? — horror or fear or shock; being tended desperately by two companions in what are the first moments of the final hours of his life."
The New York Times' Lens Blog explores the circumstances and consequences of the Associated Press releasing Julie Jacobsen's photo depicting Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Bernard after he was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in a Taliban ambush. more links: The AP's article about their decision to release the photo. Death of a Marine, a narrated slideshow from Julie Jacobsen.

The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan is guarded by gross perverts.

Optimus Chyme — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:00:19 -0800

The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan is guarded by gross perverts. (Photos!)

An Afghan Reconstruction Horror Story

reenum — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:17:06 -0800

An Afghan Reconstruction Horror Story A sad look at the lack of progress in reforming Afghanistan's infrastructure.

Morenatti, a conflict photographer

nickyskye — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 03:40:17 -0800

Some recent photographs by the renowned photojournalist Emilio Morenatti, Newspaper Photographer of the Year in 2009, who recently lost his foot in a bomb blast in Afghanistan. He was present at the 2007 assassination in Pakistan of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and barely escaped injury in that explosion. More of his recent work, a few duplicates, mentioned previously. He is recovering.

Is it worth it?

shothotbot — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:45:52 -0800

Should the United States and Nato stay in Afghanistan? Andrew Bacevich wrote an article in commonweal saying that it is not and that the question has been insufficiently debated. Andrew Exum (A former US Army Captain, now researcher who blogs as Abu Muqawama out of the Center for a New American Security) quickly responded to Bacevich saying that the issue has been carefully debated, pointing to a Stephen Biddle article entitled Is It Worth It? as an example. As MeFi's may appreciate, the comments section of that post vigorously debated the point and an Exum has started an ongoing dialog at the abu Muqawama site. Resolved, day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5.

Reaping what's sown.

uaudio — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:38:41 -0800

With inadequate access to basic health care (WHO .doc summary), impoverished Afghans turn to cheap and available opium as 'medicine' for pain relief, cough suppression and other ailments. The level of addiction among children is at a critical level. Jawed Taiman's film Addicted in Afghanistan provides some further perspective. Previously on Metafilter.

La - La; Can't hear you.

adamvasco — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:12:40 -0800

Tariq Ali writes in the LRB: - This is now Obama’s war. He campaigned to send more troops into Afghanistan and to extend the war, if necessary, into Pakistan. These pledges are now being fulfilled. On the day he publicly expressed his sadness at the death of a young Iranian woman caught up in the repression in Tehran, US drones killed 60 people in Pakistan.
Tariq Ali discusses the views of Graham Fuller an ex CIA Kabul station chief who thinks Obama's Policies are Making the Situation Worse in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The further view from Asia is that Pakistan wields a double-edged sword and that although the Pakistan-US plan are falling into place the militants, too, have their mechanisms in place, and they don't plan to deviate. A mighty collision is inevitable.
Meanwhile Kalashnikov demand soars.

The Poet's Obligation

adamvasco — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:31:49 -0800

Exit wounds: - It is the poet's obligation, wrote Plato, to bear witness. With the official inquiry into Iraq imminent and the war in Afghanistan returning dead teenagers; Carol Duffy, recently elected UK Poet Laureate invited a range of her fellow poets to bear witness, each in their own way, to these matters of war. More about the poets inside: The Poets: - Clare Shaw; Jane Weir; Jo Shapcott; Carole Satyamurti; Sean O'Brien; Robert Minhinnick; Daljit Nagra; Alan Jenkins; Matthew Hollis; Ian Duhig; Amanda Dalton; Gillian Clarke; Fred D'Aguiar; John Agard; Carola Luther; and Paul Muldoon It's getting dark, but not dark enough to see An exit wound as an exit strategy.

"Hello mum, this is going to be hard for you to read...."

orthogonality — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 04:14:02 -0800

Hello its me, this is gonna be hard for you to read but I write this knowing every time you thinks shits got to much for you to handle (so don't cry on it MUM!!) you can read this and hopefully it will help you all get through. For a start SHIT I got hit!! .... As Im writing this letter I can see you all crying and mornin my death but if I could have one wish in an "after life" it would be to stop your crying and continueing your dreams (as I did) because if I were watching only that would brake my heart.

It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Rifleman Cyrus Thatcher from 2nd Battalion The Rifles was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday 2 June 2009.

The War for Afghanistan

Pants! — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:15:26 -0800

How to win in Afghanistan? Peter Bergen looks at the capability of the Taliban insurgents, NATO troops, and the Afghan army and police, compares the current conflict to the Soviet invasion, and weighs the dangers of civilian casualties and popular support. He concludes that renewed American effort in the fight will "produce a relatively stable and prosperous Central Asian state." (via Matthew Yglesias)

Why are we there?

adamvasco — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:53:12 -0800

As Wootton Bassett gathers for a solemn ritual that is all too familiar in a very British way of mourning; the question being asked is: Exactly what are we fighting for?. Afgahnistan is not a popular war in Britain, (as also noted in an editorial in The Nation ).
It is graveyard of good intent; (extract then pdf downloadable)................ The Irresistible Illusion where the infamous General Dostum has now been invited to join the government of Hamid Karzai.

Contracting War

ornate insect — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 13:59:56 -0800

Jeremy Scahill talked with Bill Moyers recently about the continued role and increasing centrality of private military contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq, the use of military drones, and other issues related to these two ongoing wars. According to Jeremy Scahill, newly released Pentagon statistics show that in both Iraq and Afghanistan the number of armed contractors is rising, and that contractors (armed and unarmed)* now make up approximately 50% [of the total force]. Yet, since these numbers relate explicitly to DoD security contractors, [and since] companies like Blackwater and its successor Triple Canopy (more on them here) work on State Department contracts...it is unclear if these contractors are included in the over-all statistics. In other words, the numbers could be higher. Questions of statistics aside, the larger questions--of whether the increasingly privatized US military could even function without contractors, and the degree to which the systematic reliance on contractors has become business as usual--remain. The "complex" is alive and well. (*I'm not sure the significance of this distinction, since presumably even contractors not engaged in combat or security are also armed.)

Jesus killed Mohammed: The crusade for a Christian military

chunking express — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:35:30 -0800

Jesus killed Mohammed: The crusade for a Christian military.

Scenes from Afghanistan

homunculus — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:17:58 -0800

Waiting for a New Day: Scenes from Afghan life in wartime.