Pakistan in Peril. "The relative calm in Iraq in recent months, combined with the drama of the US elections, has managed to distract attention from the catastrophe that is rapidly overwhelming Western interests in the part of the world that always should have been the focus of America's response to September 11: the al-Qaeda and Taliban heartlands on either side of the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan." [Via]
posted by homunculus on Jan 21, 2009 - 30 comments

Right at the Edge. "The Taliban and Al Qaeda have established a haven in Pakistan’s tribal areas along the Afghan border. This is where the war on terror wil be fought – and possibly lost."
posted by homunculus on Sep 5, 2008 - 62 comments

Pakistan’s Phantom Border. "Pakistan is often called the most dangerous country on earth. Increasingly, its people would agree. Despite nearly $6 billion in U.S. military aid for the border region since 9/11, the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and homegrown terrorist groups have eroded the border with Afghanistan, inflicting a steady toll of suicide bombings. Going where few Westerners dare—from Taliban strongholds to undercover-police headquarters—the author sees what’s tearing the country apart."
posted by homunculus on Jun 22, 2008 - 24 comments

Stumbling into chaos: Afghanistan on the brink. A report from the Senlis Council think tank claims that the Taliban has a permanent presence in more than half of Afghan territory and the country is in serious danger of falling back into their hands. The Canadian and British governments disagree.
posted by homunculus on Nov 28, 2007 - 23 comments

Reintroducing Yvonne Ridley…
posted by hadjiboy on Jul 22, 2007 - 19 comments

Mike Hawash pleads guilty to conspiring to provide services to the Taliban and will testify against his friends that attempted to travel to Afghanistan after September 11, 2001. After the previous MeFi threads about Mike here and here, this ought to be quite a suprise for some. No update yet on the Free Mike Hawash site.
posted by schlyer on Aug 6, 2003 - 30 comments

american taliban perhaps utah could do some sort of exchange with out of work minders in kandahar? nytimes link
posted by specialk420 on Feb 3, 2003 - 44 comments

Violence and Repression in Western Afghanistan. "A man who was severely beaten by Ismail Khan's forces described to Human Rights Watch the effect of the repression: 'At any time I feel that I am in danger. When I leave my house, I do not know if I will return. I do not know whether something will happen to me, if there will be some car crash, or that I will be hit in the back of the head.' Another witness talked about how his community's hopes after the hated Taliban regime was ended have been deflated: 'What has changed in Afghanistan? All our hopes are crushed. We are completely disappointed. Look-all the same warlords are in power as before. Fundamentalism has come into power, and every day they strengthen their power.'

The light of liberation and liberty descends upon Afghanistan.
posted by fold_and_mutilate on Nov 6, 2002 - 31 comments

Pakistani man denies having sex with Taliban American. Not that there's anything wrong with it.
posted by msacheson on Sep 30, 2002 - 19 comments

Finally, finally, finally!! Someone in the mainstream media is finally asking some questions. Lots of people (here and abroad) have known about this book for some time. I think it deserves some checking into.
posted by bas67 on Jan 8, 2002 - 77 comments

Did Homophobia Corrupt Walker, the American Taliban soldier? Articles argues that there was more to the disturbance in Walker's life than merely reading Malcom X.
posted by Postroad on Jan 2, 2002 - 28 comments

An American Taliban Abdul Hamid, age 20, is an American. He is not a naturalized citizen or disaffected Arab-American youth rebelling against Western culture. He is a white, educated-sounding, apparently middle-class American, a convert to Islam who came to Afghanistan six months ago to help the Taliban build a “true Islamic state.” The question is, how long before the movie comes out? Wonder what his parents think...
posted by Rastafari on Dec 2, 2001 - 23 comments

Taliban Withdrawal Was Strategy, Not Rout
posted by Oxydude on Nov 14, 2001 - 30 comments

Berkeley does it again... The Berkeley City Council is considering condemning the US attacks on Afganistan as acts of terrorism. The best quote: "Berkeley has always been an island of sanity in terms of the war madness that has prevailed in this country," Spring said. "The U.S. is now a terrorist. According to the Taliban these are terrorist attacks." (Via the WSJ Opinion Page)
posted by madreblu on Oct 10, 2001 - 30 comments

Taliban gets rich from drug trade. So, how long will it be until copping a buzz is considered "aiding and abetting terrorism"? Also, between these charges and the legitimate threats to safety presented by actual terrorism, does the already severely diminished Fourth Amendment really stand a chance?
posted by Optamystic on Oct 4, 2001 - 10 comments

Biden to propose reconstruction if Afghanistan attacked. Sounds good to me.
posted by donkeyschlong on Oct 3, 2001 - 13 comments

We may end up not needing to attack Afghanistan at all. The Taliban seem to be doing a marvelous job of destroying themselves just worrying about what we might do.
posted by aaron on Sep 20, 2001 - 5 comments

Paratroopers? Or cruise missiles? What will America's military response be if the Taliban are determined to be liable? The Russians certainly didn't too well with a conventional military attack on Afghanistan.
posted by MattD on Sep 11, 2001 - 34 comments

Taliban seeks "friendship" with the U.S. Despite their myriad human rights violations and long-standing involvement in a brutal and bloody civil war, the Afghani Taliban government wants to open diplomatic relations with the U.S. Is there really anything to gain by having friendly relations with a nation under UN sanction which treats their own with brutality and has threatened and defied us at every turn?
posted by Dreama on Jul 31, 2001 - 15 comments