MetaFilter posts tagged with war and Afghanistan

War Photographer

netbros — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:44:44 -0800

David Guttenfelder is the chief Asia photographer for The Associated Press. Recently, he has been focusing his lens in Afghanistan. Photographer Collection: David Guttenfelder in Afghanistan and On Assignment: Afghanistan.

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...

"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.

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)

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.

General Disarray

cal71 — Mon, 11 May 2009 11:08:01 -0800

The U.S. replaces the top General in Afghanistan after he'd held his post for less than a year. General McKiernan is being replaced by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, who came under some criticism in the past for the treatment of detainees by his Special Operations forces under his command. He is credited with the death of Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab Zarqawi in 2006, and the Obama administrations hopes he will bring unconventional thinking to the use of force in Afghanistan. He is already working on some new ideas in military civilian collaboration, but does he play poker? Will he embrace the population-centered warfare approach? Will this General, a prominent figure in Bush's war on terror, be an effective tool in the use of Smart Power, or just make matters worse?

Fighting for God and...God.

zerobyproxy — Mon, 04 May 2009 09:47:45 -0800

Evangelical Christian soldiers on the march for Jesus in Afghanistan. SLYT

Wikileaks cracks password on NATO Afghanistan document

Mwongozi — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:14:18 -0800

Wikileaks cracks NATO's Master Narrative for Afghanistan
Wikileaks has cracked the encryption to a key document relating to the war in Afghanistan. The document, titled "NATO in Afghanistan: Master Narrative", details the "story" NATO representatives are to give to, and to avoid giving to, journalists. The encrypted document, which is dated October 6, and believed to be current, could be found on the Pentagon Central Command website "oneteam.centcom.mil", but that entire site is now down. The password was "progress".

to take brass and fire into his mouth

batmonkey — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:21:09 -0800

Army reports highest rate of soldier suicides for three decades in 2008. Even the up-and-coming are at risk. Stars & Stripes mentions that leadership may bear some blame. Will twice the money for family programs help? [title: line from "Eulogy", PFC B. Miller 1980-2004]

Australian Soldier in Afghanistan Awarded VC

Fiasco da Gama — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:06:38 -0800

An Australian soldier has been awarded the Victoria Cross for his involvement in an action in Afghanistan.

"Many times when the women were sewing they would cry."

Miko — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:24:49 -0800

Weavings of War: Fabrics of Memory , an online exhibit of comtemporary textiles created (mostly) by women living in war zones.

Anthropology Goes to War, and Bad Things Happen

fourcheesemac — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:36:26 -0800

Paula Loyd, a 36 year old anthropologist and US Army reservist, is the third social scientist to be killed within the last 8 months while working for the US Army's controversial Human Terrain System project in Afghanistan. The circumstances of her death were gruesome. Her death was then brutally avenged by a fellow HTS worker and military contractor, Don Ayala, now awaiting trial for murder. HTS, has been controversial from the start (NY Times). The American Anthropological Association has opposed the project in no uncertain terms, recognizing a long history of anthropologists' complicity with military and colonial power. Loyd herself had been critical of the role of US military contractors in Afghanistan (YouTube video, 2006).

britishbattles.com

nthdegx — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:49:21 -0800

The sections of britishbattles.com about The First Afghan War have apparently been quoted verbatim in Al-Qaeda propaganda. Site author, amateur historian John Mackenzie, told the press "It's exactly appropriate to use the account of the first Afghan war to point out the pointlessness of the current operations and the dangers that they run of a similar disaster," The National Army Museum's Julian Farrance: "They're ignoring the successes that Britain had in Afghanistan, and there have been many. The second Afghan war was concluded very much in Britain's favour and the third Afghan war was a total washout for the Afghans."

Sixth generation warfare: boner pills.

mek — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 21:07:12 -0800

The little blue pill goes to war.

Are fortification and foreign aid making Kabul more dangerous?

homunculus — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:28:18 -0800

The Archipelago of Fear. "International surveys show that the more people trust their neighbours, strangers, and their government, the more likely they are to help strangers, to vote, and to volunteer. If better streets, sidewalks, walls, and buildings all improve the ways people engage with one another, then the reverse should also be true: antagonistic architecture can corrode trust and fuel hostility. Kabul just might be a laboratory of toxic urbanity."

The Economist: The World in 2009

goodnewsfortheinsane — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:00:30 -0800

In 2009, a remarkably gifted politician, confronting a remarkably difficult set of challenges, will have to learn to say "No we can't", Guantánamo will prove a moral minefield, economic recovery will be invisible to the naked eye, governments must prepare for the day they stop financial guarantees, we will judge our commitment to sustainability, scientists should research the causes of religion, we will all be potential online paparazzi, English will have more words than any other language (but it's meaningless), Afghanistan will see a surge of Western (read: American) troops, Iran will continue its nuclear quest while diplomacy lies in shambles, the sea floor is the new frontier, we should rethink aging, (non-)voters will continue to thwart the European project -- but cheap travel will continue to buoy it -- though it has some unfinished business to attend to, and a Nordic defence bond will blossom.

The Economist: The World in 2009. Previously: 2008, 2007. How did we do last time around? And what will we probably be wrong about this time? Guest contributions: President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva seeks greater international cooperation and sees a growing global role for the larger emerging economies. Queen of Jordan Rania calls for education reform. Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd calls upon mid-size powers to be creative and effective with their influence. Prime Minister of Spain José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero emphasizes the importance of transparency and solidarity in Europe. Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko, wedged between Russia and the EU, cites historical precedent. Former Secretary of State of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Henry Kissinger argues America will be less powerful, but will still be the essential nation in creating a new world order. Mayor Boris Johnson of London argues against over-regulation. Elections to watch: Brazil, Chile, European Parliament, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Japan. Also: Russia will enter its first real difficult years under Putin, Brown might not make it, we won't ban nukes but we can pretend, Ontario will receive economic help from other provinces, Australians will grow ever more thirsty, and Britain needs to make stuff again. World in 2009 blog.

Ending Chaos in Afghanistan and Pakistan

homunculus — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:09:19 -0800

From Great Game to Grand Bargain. "The crisis in Afghanistan and Pakistan is beyond the point where more troops will help. U.S. strategy must be to seek compromise with insurgents while addressing regional rivalries and insecurities." A new piece in Foreign Affairs by Barnett R. Rubin and Ahmed Rashid. [Via]

Afghanistan

homunculus — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:32:08 -0800

Return to the Valley of Death. In this Vanity Fair article, Sebastian Junger describes life with the men of Battle Company at their Korengal Valley outpost in Afghanistan. In Rolling Stone, Nir Rosen describes his journey into Taliban-controlled Afghanistan: How We Lost the War We Won.