Ambition on the part of Gen. Petraeus may have blinded him to truth that Taliban impostor was too good to be true.
Petraeus Played
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Afghanistan
U.S. Out of Afghanistan by 2014? Don’t Hold Your Breath
400 military bases and a mega-embassy are not the face of an impending withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Could Gandhi Have Halted Night Raids?
Just Foreign Policy’s Robert Naiman wonders whether Gandhi’s satyagraha can work in Afghanistan.
Election Was Missed Opportunity to Convince Voters to Abandon Current Afghanistan Strategy
Americans forget that the $3 billion a week it spends on Afghanistan and Iraq makes the bank bailout and stimulus look like chump change.
The Pentagon Must Protect Whistleblowers
The grisly details continue to drip out. Five American soldiers have been accused of setting up “kills” and murdering innocent Afghans earlier this year, according to charges filed by the U.S. Army against them. But could some of the murders have been stopped earlier? And could potential whistleblowers within the military’s chain of command have been protected?
Of Horns and Beaks and the Afghanistan War
There is always another “strategic” battle — in Afghanistan, as in Vietnam — that’s “key” to winning a war against an insurgency. But there are millions of hills and valleys and they are as meaningless in Afghanistan as they were in Vietnam.
Will Rockets or Schools Tell the Tale of Afghanistan?
Even at its most successful, a military-led counterinsurgency campaign remains inherently unsustainable.
The Passing of the State, Part 47 — It’s Not Just the Talib, Folks
Winning wars is defined differently by gangs, tribes, and sects. These “Other Guys” only have to not lose.
The White Noise of War
In the high-vaulted main hall of Union Station in Washington, DC, the sound of a drone attack interrupts the morning rush hour. A dozen people suddenly freeze in place. Some point up into the air. Others crouch with hands over their heads in a vain attempt at self-protection. The commuters on their way to and from the trains pause to look at the stationary figures. After a minute or so, the leaf-blower sound of the drone attack cuts off, and the figures crumple to the ground, crying out in pain. As the cries of the victims fade, two attendants cover the bodies with blood-stained sheets.
Backed-up NATO Vehicles Stood in Mute Testimony to Futility of Afghanistan War
Too bad that the Torkham border was re-opened: the United States could have used an indefinite halt to the convoys as a pretext to leave Afghanistan.