Brett Kershaw

Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Christina Goldbaum of The New York Times are clinging to platitudes and generalities in their recent report about the threat of ISIS-K in Afghanistan. The article is, at best, a semi-official government press leak. It largely passes over Washington’s role in forging much of the crisis, while absolving the government of any … Continue reading “The ISIS-K Hawks at The New York Times“

War and conflict rarely benefit the lives of ordinary people. Indeed, the very nature of war is destructive. In the case of Afghanistan, once the US war and occupation ended, any delusive stability or vitality in the nation’s economy collapsed too. Numbers and statistics only go so far in describing the human condition of postwar-Afghanistan. … Continue reading “Washington Demands Acquiescence in Afghanistan”

The US government killed no ISIS-K fighters in its drone strike in Kabul last month. Instead, it killed 10 civilians. Zemari Ahmadi arrived home from work on Aug. 29 as his white Toyota Corolla was hit by an MQ-9 Reaper drone missile. He worked with Nutrition & Education International, a US-sponsored NGO, which gives food … Continue reading “Washington’s Wars: The Killing of Zemari Ahmadi”

Far away on the frontier of the American empire, thousands of US troops remain surrounding the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. No longer is the military mission to wage war in support of Washington’s nation-building project. It’s now about helping Americans and Afghans escape the likely ire of the onset of the new Taliban … Continue reading “Washington’s Hegemony Perches Over the Horizon”

On his trip to New Delhi this past week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his band of rabble-rousing State Department officials met with India’s Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The two diplomats spoke fondly of the blossoming US-India partnership and reiterated their shared commitment about how "no military solution" can fix the conflict … Continue reading “US Empire Finds a Friend in India”

In a 23-3 vote on Thursday, the Senate Armed Services Committee signed off on a Republican-led amendment that grants an additional $25 billion to next year’s defense budget. The new proposal boosts spending levels to a total of $778 billion and proffers more in funding than what the Trump administration allocated in 2021. The funds … Continue reading “The Bipartisan Quarrel Over Defense Spending: Does It Matter?”