Tag: taliban

US Uses Peace Talks to Divide Taliban from Pakistan

The leaked reports over the past two weeks of a series of meetings between U.S. officials and a Taliban figure close to leader Mullah Omar seemed to point to real progress toward a negotiated settlement of the war in Afghanistan. But in fact the talks are part of a Barack Obama administration strategy aimed at … Continue reading “US Uses Peace Talks to Divide Taliban from Pakistan”

Obama Troop Surge Decision Ignored Pak-Taliban Ties

The unilateral U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden created a spike in mutual recriminations between U.S. and Pakistani politicians, but their fundamental conflict of interest over Afghanistan was already driving the two countries toward serious confrontation. The pivotal event in relations between the Barack Obama administration and Pakistan was the decision by Obama to … Continue reading “Obama Troop Surge Decision Ignored Pak-Taliban Ties”

How to Prevent Chaos in Pakistan

The eruption of democratic defiance among Arabs has discredited neoconservatives and al-Qaeda alike, shattering their shared assumption that Muslims need violent prodding to reclaim their dignity. Ten weeks of protests won Tunisians and Egyptians what 10 years of bloodshed could not purchase for Pax Americana or its archenemy in Iraq or Afghanistan: a spirit of … Continue reading “How to Prevent Chaos in Pakistan”

Deferring to Petraeus, NIE Failed to Register Taliban Growth

Despite evidence that the Taliban insurgency had grown significantly in 2010, the U.S. intelligence community failed to revise its estimate for Taliban forces as part of a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Afghanistan in December. That unusual decision was in deference to Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S.-NATO forces in Afghanistan, who did not want … Continue reading “Deferring to Petraeus, NIE Failed to Register Taliban Growth”

Evidence of 2002 Taliban Offer Damages Myth of al-Qaeda Ties

The central justification of the U.S.-NATO war against the Afghan Taliban – that the Taliban would allow al-Qaeda to return to Afghanistan – has been challenged by new historical evidence of offers by the Taliban leadership to reconcile with the Hamid Karzai government after the fall of the Taliban government in late 2001. The evidence … Continue reading “Evidence of 2002 Taliban Offer Damages Myth of al-Qaeda Ties”

A Radical Solution for the War in Afghanistan

If actions speak louder than words, the U.S. military this week seemed to confirm the pessimistic findings of the National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs) on the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which it had pooh-poohed only last week. The military assessment emphasized a rosy picture of gains in the Helmand and Kandahar provinces in Afghanistan, whereas … Continue reading “A Radical Solution for the War in Afghanistan”

Continued Foibles in Iraq and Afghanistan

After Richard Nixon started the U.S. troop drawdown in Vietnam, the American public thought “problem solved” and demonstrations on college campuses dissipated. Then it was disclosed that Nixon, while reducing U.S. forces in Vietnam, was escalating a parallel war in Cambodia by bombing and invasion. Antiwar protests resumed with a new frenzy. Similarly, for some … Continue reading “Continued Foibles in Iraq and Afghanistan”

US Still Taking a Hard Line on Peace Talks with Taliban

Following serious setbacks to the U.S. military’s war plan in Afghanistan, the Barack Obama administration has taken the first tentative step toward a negotiated settlement of the conflict by actively seeking to ascertain the willingness of the Taliban to enter into negotiations, according to a source familiar with the administration’s thinking about the issue. But … Continue reading “US Still Taking a Hard Line on Peace Talks with Taliban”

The Taliban: Forced Into Negotiation While Winning?

Although David Petraeus, the top American commander in Afghanistan, recently peddled the notion that senior Taliban chieftains had made contact with senior Afghan government officials about the possibility of starting reconciliation talks, such talk of peace in our time is likely to be hype. By publicizing such contacts, Petraeus is cleverly implying, but not saying, … Continue reading “The Taliban: Forced Into Negotiation While Winning?”

Media Didn’t Buy Story of Low Taliban Morale

In an effort to introduce a story of “progress” into media coverage, Gen. David Petraeus’s command claimed last week that the Taliban is suffering from reduced morale in Marjah and elsewhere, despite evidence that the population of Marjah still believes the Taliban controls that district. But the news media ignored the command’s handout on the … Continue reading “Media Didn’t Buy Story of Low Taliban Morale”