Tag: afghanistan
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The People We’re Leaving Behind in Afghanistan | The New Yorker
The People We’re Leaving Behind in Afghanistan Young Afghans defied the Taliban and signed on to reconstruction efforts, only to learn that U.S. and NATO forces would be abruptly withdrawn. via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-people-were-leaving-behind-in-afghanistan “There’s little reflection on failures and America’s role in these failures,” Akbar said. “That’s frustrating to watch. We are being…
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A City Under Siege: What the War Looks Like on Afghanistan’s Front Line – The New York Times
A City Under Siege: What the War Looks Like on Afghanistan’s Front Line (Published 2021) As bullets from a Taliban machine gun ricocheted through the street below, an Afghan soldier wearing an “I Heart Kabul” T-shirt took a brief rest. “There has been fighting day and night.” Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/13/world/asia/afghanistan-helmand-taliban.html As the planes departed and the…
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U.S. Built the Afghan Military Over 20 Years. Will It Last One More? – The New York Times
How Long Can the Afghan Security Forces Last on Their Own? (Published 2021) As the United States withdraws from Afghanistan, it leaves behind broken and battered Afghan security forces to defend the country from the Taliban and other threats. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/28/world/asia/afghanistan-security-forces.html Until recently, Lieutenant Atash was in charge of several police outposts. One sold out…
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Opinion | I Met a Taliban Leader and Lost Hope for My Country – The New York Times
Opinion | I Met a Taliban Leader and Lost Hope for My Country (Published 2021) Afghan women know the cost of the wars started by men, and we will continue to suffer after American forces withdraw. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/21/opinion/Afghanistan-Taliban-Women.html As men continue to bicker over the future and control of Afghanistan, I have already lost my…
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Opinion | On Afghanistan, Biden Ditches the Generals – The New York Times
Opinion | Biden Ditches the Generals, Finally (Published 2021) Another casualty in the graveyard of empires. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/17/opinion/sunday/biden-afghanistan-war.html Gates told reporters he had only just learned the “eye-opener” that the Taliban were attracting so many fighters because they paid more. Generals in Afghanistan said the Taliban were giving fighters $250 to $300 a month, while…
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For Biden, an Anguishing Choice on Withdrawal from Afghanistan | The New Yorker
For Biden, an Anguishing Choice on Withdrawal from Afghanistan Five factors will influence the U.S. role and the prospects for peace after two decades of war. via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/for-biden-an-anguishing-choice-on-withdrawal-from-afghanistan “The expectation that violence would gradually reduce as we went into the peace process is not taking place,” Miller said. Attacks on American forces…
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Last Exit from Afghanistan | The New Yorker
Last Exit from Afghanistan Will peace talks with the Taliban and the prospect of an American withdrawal create a breakthrough or a collapse? via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/03/08/last-exit-from-afghanistan In my meeting with Ghani, he seemed abandoned, like a pilot pulling levers that weren’t connected to anything. He professed gratitude to the United States, but was clearly…
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Why Did the Taliban Free an Imprisoned Afghan Police Officer? – The New York Times
She Killed an American in 2012. Why Was She Freed in the Taliban Deal? (Published 2021) The internal debate in Washington over the fate of an Iranian prisoner in Afghanistan illustrates one of the difficult decisions the end of a war brings. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/15/world/asia/afghanistan-prisoner-exchange-taliban.html As peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban continue…
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‘I Could Just Vanish’: In Kabul, Pocket Notes to Prevent Anonymous Death – The New York Times
‘I Could Just Vanish’: In Kabul, Pocket Notes to Prevent Anonymous Death (Published 2021) As violence engulfs them, some Afghans carry notes with their names, blood types and relatives’ phone numbers in case they are killed or severely wounded. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/world/asia/afghanistan-attacks-pocket-notes.html “This is how we live in Afghanistan,” she added. “It is not just me.…
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Targeted Killings Are Terrorizing Afghans. And No One Is Claiming Them. – The New York Times
Targeted Killings Are Terrorizing Afghans. And No One Is Claiming Them. (Published 2021) Most officials believe the Taliban are behind the attacks on civil leaders, but others fear that factions are using chaos as a cover to settle scores, in an echo of Afghanistan’s past civil war. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/02/world/asia/afghanistan-targeted-killings.html KABUL, Afghanistan — A military prosecutor…
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How a ‘Distorted Culture’ Led Elite Australian Troops to Kill 39 Helpless Afghans – The New York Times
Blood Lust and Demigods: Behind an Australian Force’s Slaughter of Helpless Afghans (Published 2020) The findings of a four-year military inquiry paint a brutal picture of a special forces culture of rewarding the killing of innocents and prisoners and methodically covering it up. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/18/world/australia/afghanistan-war-crimes.html Commanders ordered junior soldiers to execute prisoners so they could…
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Why Trump Carried Out His Pentagon Purge | The New Yorker
Why Trump Carried Out His Pentagon Purge With his Administration coming to a close, the President is still reshaping the government around himself. via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/why-trump-carried-out-his-pentagon-purge The situation in Afghanistan is tenuous. In February, American and Taliban diplomats signed an agreement, by which the United States would withdraw all of its forces once…
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The Last Patrol — The California Sunday Magazine
The Pardon of a Convicted War Criminal In 2019, President Trump pardoned Army Lieutenant Clint Lorance, who was serving a 20-year sentence for ordering the murder of two Afghan civilians. To Lorance’s defenders, the act was long overdue. To members of his platoon, it was a gross miscarriage of via The California Sunday Magazine: https://story.californiasunday.com/clint-lorance-court-martial-pardon-the-last-patrol…
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Review: Breaking News
Breaking News: A Stunning and Memorable Account of Reporting from Some of the Most Dangerous Places in the World, by Martin Fletcher. [rating: 4/5] Martin Fletcher, the NBC News Bureau Chief in Tel Aviv with a penchant for posing on top of destroyed tanks, provides a great look back at his life covering conflict. War…