Feature / Analysis

U.N. blames rise in violence against Afghan women on culture

UNITED NATIONS: Violence linked to culture was the main reason for a 20 percent rise in deaths and injuries of females in Afghanistan last year, U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan Jan Kubis said on Monday. Despite an overall fall in annual civilian casualties in Afghanistan for the first time in se...

NATO chief says Karzai accusation "absolutely ridiculous"

BRUSSELS : The head of NATO said on Monday it was "absolutely ridiculous" for Afghan President Hamid Karzai to accuse the United States of colluding with the Taliban and said Kabul should recognize sacrifices made by other countries on Afghanistan's behalf. Karzai marred a debut visit to Afghanist...

U.S. soldier accused of Afghan killings faces "sanity" review

SEATTLE: A U.S. soldier charged with killing 16 civilians, most of them women and children, near his Army post in Afghanistan is set to undergo a medical review on Sunday to determine his state of mind at the time of the killings and ability to stand trial. The review, known in the military as a "...

In Afghanistan, Karzai is on a high-stakes quest for sovereignty

KABUL : In early 2009, as Afghanistan’s second presidential election loomed, President Hamid Karzai described his once-genial relationship with the United States as a “gentle wrestling match” that he hoped to win. Four years later, another Afghan election is nearing, and that match has become far ...

Objections to U.S. Troops Intensify in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan: The continued presence of American Special Operations troops in Wardak Province, against the wishes of the Afghan government, brought demonstrators to the capital on Saturday and provoked a strongly worded denunciation from Muslim clerics. President Hamid Karzai had given the A...

Deal likely to keep U.S. elite forces in key Afghan province: official

KABUL: Afghan and U.S. officials are working on a compromise deal to allow American Special Forces to stay in a strategically key province near the capital in return for full Afghan control of a controversial jail, a top Kabul official said. President Hamid Karzai's decision to expel Special Force...

The REAL reason the U.S. failed in Afghanistan

Why did the U.S. fail in Afghanistan? (I know we are pretending to have succeeded, but that's just camouflage to disguise what is in fact an embarrassing if predictable defeat). The reasons for our failure are now being debated by people like Vali Nasr and Sarah Chayes, who have offered contrasting ...

Hamid Karzai's risky rants

As Americans try to make sense of the latest salvo of rhetoric coming out of Kabul, Afghans are also perturbed by confusion engulfing their country's prospects at a time when both sides are expected to soberly focus on immediate challenges, maintaining Afghanistan's stability, and making sure that A...

Obama: Climate change threatens shipping routes

President Obama said Tuesday that federal investments in waterway maintenance will be vital as drought fueled by climate change creates problems for barges bringing goods out of the Midwest. Obama, during a meeting of the President’s Export Council, noted recent problems moving goods when last year...

Climate change possibly to bring more and new diseases

(Author’s Note: How does climate change affect our health? This piece tries to answer that question.)THE scientific evidence continues to mount. The climate is changing, the effects are already being felt and human activities are a principal cause.“Without effective action, climate change is going ...

Can China come clean?

Communist leaders looking at hazy path to better environment BEIJING – Facing public outrage over smog-choked cities and filthy rivers, China’s leaders are promising to clean up the country’s neglected environment – a pledge that sets up a clash with political pressures to keep economic growth stro...

Climate change significant challenge facing Libya

If new government doesn’t address the issues related to climate change, Libya could see more turmoil; say Francesco Femia and Caitlin Werrell. When dictator Moammar Gadhafi was killed in October 2011, months after the first wave of uprisings swept Libya as part of the larger Arab Spring, internatio...

Afghan Politicians Urge U.S. Patience

KABUL: Afghan opposition leaders urged Washington not to overreact to President Hamid Karzai's allegations of American collusion with the Taliban, saying there is broad support for a continued U.S. role in Afghanistan. Mr. Karzai caused a furor on Sunday, the day he met visiting U.S. Defense Secre...

Dispute over high-risk prisoners threatens to disrupt U.S.-Afghan talks

A dispute over the fate of about three dozen militants held by U.S. forces in Afghanistan has disrupted negotiations over a long-term security agreement to leave U.S. troops in the country after 2014. The United States has refused to turn over the prisoners — deemed especially dangerous compared w...

Is Obama to blame for the mess in Afghanistan?

A new book by an administration insider argues a “dithering” White House has led to key missteps in Afghanistan and a loss of American power in the world. BUZZARDS BAY, Mass: As the recent fracas in Afghanistan amply demonstrates, the picture is not at all rosy with regards to the United States’ lo...

Afghanistan's biggest-ever truck bomb defused in Kabul: spy agency

KABUL: Security forces in the Afghan capital have defused a truck bomb packed with nearly eight tonnes of explosives, the biggest of its kind discovered in the country, the spy agency said on Friday amid heightened security. Intelligence forces discovered the explosives in eastern Kabul, wired and...

Review: Muslims Most Civilized, Yet Not Enough‏

Review Muslims Most Civilized, Yet Not Enough By Dr. Javed Jamil Review by Syed Adil Pages 364 Mission Publications Price: Rs 500/-, US$ 50 This is now becoming increasingly clear that the so-called New World Order is an ugly product of the ugly designs of the forces of economics t...

Western Media Set Up North Korea For War‏

Western so-called news media coverage of the escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula is like watching a cross between a bad James Bond movie and a cheap horror flick about flesh-eating zombies.It would be funny if the danger of war was not so serious and imminent. The disturbing direction of th...

Ashamed To Be An American?

What in the world is going on in the west? I’m talking about Europe and America and all the players in the Middle East and Africa. The entire scenario smells like rotten fish (more like decaying bodies). I’m tired of holding my tongue and reading the drivel and watching the charade on television. Th...

1.6 Billion Rounds Of Ammo For Homeland Security? It's Time For A National Conversation

- The Denver Post, on February 15th, ran an Associated Press article entitled Homeland Security aims to buy 1.6b rounds of ammo, so far to little notice. It confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security has issued an open purchase order for 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition. As reported elsew...

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