by Ben Barber | 9 Apr 2021 | Asia, Decoders, Politics
The U.S. wants to end its longest war and withdraw from Afghanistan—called by some the graveyard of empires. But a May 1 deadline looks uncertain. U.S. military carry the casket of a soldier killed in Afghanistan, Dover, Delaware, 12 June 2017. (EPA-EFE/SCOTT SERIO)...
by Jim Wolf | 19 Dec 2019 | Americas, Asia, Islam, United States
The U.S. sends troops far from home on an ill-defined mission. Leaders lie. The conflict becomes a quagmire. That’s Afghanistan — or Vietnam redux. Family members of a U.S. soldier who died in Afghanistan look up as military helicopters fly over graveside...
by Ben Barber | 21 May 2019 | Islam, Middle East, Terrorism
For decades, militant religious schools in Pakistan called madrassas taught students to kill non-believers. Now, Islamabad is taking them on. Zaman and Viqar Shah head to a madrassa in Islamabad, Pakistan, 22 May 2003. (EPA-PHOTO/EPA/Shabbir Hussain Iman) For 30...
by Danielle Amir-Lobel | 20 May 2019 | Asia, Human Rights, Islam, La Jolla Country Day School, Student Posts, Youth Voices
The war in Afghanistan is the longest military conflict in U.S. history. It has failed. The key to peace is diplomacy and the quiet work of diplomats. U.S. and Taliban negotiators at peace talks brokered by Qatar, in Doha, 25 February 2019 (Qatar Ministry of Foreign...
by Atiq Rahimi | 27 Feb 2019 | Asia, Islam, Terrorism, United States, Women
Afghanistan is in peace talks. Governance by the government would be bad, governance by the Taliban worse. Afghans must resist fundamentalism. (Photo by Atiq Rahimi) On the eve of Valentine’s Day this year, a well-known Afghan poet, Ramin Muzaher, recited one of his...