Gareth Porter

Gareth Porter is an investigative historian and journalist specializing in U.S. national security policy. The paperback edition of his latest book, Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam, was published in 2006.

US Nuclear Option on Iran Linked to Israeli Attack Threat

The Barack Obama administration’s declaration in its Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) that it is reserving the right to use nuclear weapons against Iran represents a new element in a strategy of persuading Tehran that an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites is a serious possibility if Iran does not bow to the demand that it … Continue reading “US Nuclear Option on Iran Linked to Israeli Attack Threat”

94 Percent of Kandaharis Want Peace Talks, Not War

An opinion survey of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province funded by the U.S. Army has revealed that 94 percent of respondents support negotiating with the Taliban over military confrontation with the insurgent group and 85 percent regard the Taliban as "our Afghan brothers." The survey, conducted by a private U.S. contractor last December, covered Kandahar City and … Continue reading “94 Percent of Kandaharis Want Peace Talks, Not War”

McChrystal Reneges on Kandahar Shuras 

The U.S. military has now officially backtracked from its earlier suggestion that it would seek the consent of local shuras, or consultative conferences with those elders, to carry out the coming military occupation of Kandahar city and nearby districts – contradicting a pledge by Afghan President Hamid Karzai not to carry out the operation without … Continue reading “McChrystal Reneges on Kandahar Shuras “

Ignorance of Afghan Society Led to Botched Raids

A Special Operations Forces raid on Feb. 12 on what was supposed to be the compound of a Taliban leader but that killed three women and two Afghan government officials demonstrated a fatal weakness of the U.S. military engagement in Afghanistan: after eight years of operating there, the U.S. military still has no understanding of … Continue reading “Ignorance of Afghan Society Led to Botched Raids”

Afghan Official Says US Raiders Hid Killings

The head of the Afghan Ministry of Interior investigation said publicly for the first time his investigators had accepted the testimony of family members of the victims of the Feb. 12 raid by U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) that the U.S. troops had dug bullets out of the bodies of their victims in an apparent … Continue reading “Afghan Official Says US Raiders Hid Killings”

Study: Two-Thirds of Boys in Afghan Jails Are Brutalized

Nearly two of every three male juveniles arrested in Afghanistan are physically abused, according to a study based on interviews with 40 percent of all those now incarcerated in the country’s juvenile justice system. The study, carried out by U.S. defense attorney Kimberly Motley for the international children’s rights organization Terre des Hommes, reveals a … Continue reading “Study: Two-Thirds of Boys in Afghan Jails Are Brutalized”

JSOC Interests Snag Plan to Free Afghan Detainees

An initiative to revise the procedures for reviewing the cases of detainees in order to free marginal insurgents and innocent Afghans has run afoul of the interests of officers of the powerful Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in defending their role in earlier detention decisions. A study of U.S. detention policy in Afghanistan by Maj. … Continue reading “JSOC Interests Snag Plan to Free Afghan Detainees”

Policy Battle Over Afghan Peace Talks Intensifies

The struggle within the Barack Obama administration over Afghanistan policy entered a new phase when the president suggested at a meeting of his “war cabinet” Friday that it might be time to start negotiations with the Taliban, according to a report in the New York Times Saturday. Obama said that the success of the recent … Continue reading “Policy Battle Over Afghan Peace Talks Intensifies”

Fiction of Marjah as City Was US Misinformation

For weeks, the U.S. public followed the biggest offensive of the Afghanistan War against what it was told was a "city of 80,000 people" as well as the logistical hub of the Taliban in that part of Helmand. That idea was a central element in the overall impression built up in February that Marjah was … Continue reading “Fiction of Marjah as City Was US Misinformation”

Defying US, Pakistan Keeps Custody of Baradar

The refusal of Pakistani intelligence to turn over Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and as many as six other top Taliban figures to the United States or the Afghan government has dealt a serious blow to the Barack Obama administration’s hopes for Pakistani cooperation in weakening the Taliban. It has left little doubt in … Continue reading “Defying US, Pakistan Keeps Custody of Baradar”