Tag: taliban

Bin Laden: Dead and Loving It

The tallest Arab ever wanted dead or alive by a president of the United States is still at large. Either that or he’s dead. Again. We’ve been hearing from intelligence sources and the media that bin Laden is dead for a long time. How dead can one evildoer get? In July 2002 the New York … Continue reading “Bin Laden: Dead and Loving It”

Taliban Regime Pressed bin Laden on Anti-US Terror

Evidence now available from various sources, including recently declassified U.S. State Department documents, shows that the Taliban regime led by Mullah Mohammad Omar imposed strict isolation on Osama bin Laden after 1998 to prevent him from carrying out any plots against the United States. The evidence contradicts the claims by top officials of the Barack … Continue reading “Taliban Regime Pressed bin Laden on Anti-US Terror”

US, Karzai Clash on Unconditional Talks With Taliban

KABUL – On the surface, it would seem unlikely that Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who presides over a politically feeble government and is highly dependent on the U.S. military presence and economic assistance, would defy the United States on the issue of peace negotiations with the leadership of the Taliban insurgency. But a long-simmering conflict … Continue reading “US, Karzai Clash on Unconditional Talks With Taliban”

Behind Cautious Signal, a Decision for Afghan Peace Talks

KABUL – Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal’s very cautiously-worded support for a negotiated settlement with the Taliban leadership in an interview published Monday is only the first public signal of a policy decision by the Barack Obama administration to support a political settlement between the Hamid Karzai regime and the Taliban, an official of McChrystal’s International … Continue reading “Behind Cautious Signal, a Decision for Afghan Peace Talks”

Pakistan: Vestiges of War, Hopes for Peace

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – "We aren’t going to be browbeaten by acts of cowardice and [will] continue exposing Taliban and [other] militants," said an angry Shamim Shahid, president of the Peshawar Press Club (PPC). The spate of media killings in Pakistan in the year just past – and the likelihood that it could continue unabated this … Continue reading “Pakistan: Vestiges of War, Hopes for Peace”

US Silent About Taliban Guarantee Offer on al-Qaeda

The Barack Obama administration is refusing to acknowledge an offer by the leadership of the Taliban in early December to give "legal guarantees" that it will not allow Afghanistan to be used for attacks on other countries. The administration’s silence on the offer, despite a public statement by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressing skepticism … Continue reading “US Silent About Taliban Guarantee Offer on al-Qaeda”

Obama Previously Rejected His New Surge Rationale

President Barack Obama presented a case Tuesday for sending 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan that included both soaring rhetoric and a new emphasis on its necessity for U.S. national security. Obama said the escalation was for a "vital national interest" and invoked the threat of attacks from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area, asserting that such … Continue reading “Obama Previously Rejected His New Surge Rationale”

Dumb and Dumber Wars

Michael O’Hanlon, a war hawk tank-thinker with the Brookings Institution who encouraged us to invade Iraq, says we should "remain hopeful" about Afghanistan. Even though the news about Afghanistan has been "dispiriting," O’Hanlon tells us, "Most foreign and Afghan officials and officers who I encountered on a recent week-long visit sponsored by the U.S. military … Continue reading “Dumb and Dumber Wars”