Claims of fraud and victory have ringed throughout Afghanistan and in the international media since the first ballot was cast last week. Though the presidential election was deemed successful, yet far from perfect, by European and American officials, many feel that the election was too riddled with fraud to be considered legitimate. And though Karzai […]
While it wasn’t perfect, as no one predicted it would be, but for the most part the Afghan presidential election went relatively well. Of course, we should hold off full judgment until all the votes are collected, counted, and the election commission is allowed to check fraud complaints. There have been some vote tallies, but […]
In a matter of hours many of those eligible to vote in Afghanistan, but not all unfortunately, will go to the polls and choose who they want to govern them for the next half decade. This election has been fraught with peril and questions for months now and in many ways it’s hard to believe […]
Russia’s annual disaster season is in full swing. From the Kursk submarine disaster and the Beslan school massacre (along with the simultaneous suicide attacks on two airliners), it seems that if something will go wrong, it’s likely to do so between July and September. Unfortunately, this year was no different: a major explosion killed as […]
The NY Times notes the rise of Central Asians, especially those from the Ferghana Valley, crossing into Afghanistan to fight alongside the Taliban. Many have been killed by security forces upon their return home. While at first glance, one would be concerned, upon deeper investigation, the likelihood is low of a Taliban-style insurgency forming and […]
These are trying, heady times in Afghanistan. We are nearly on the eve of the nation’s second presidential election since the overthrow of the Taliban and much is at stake. The Afghan government has ordered a halt to reports of violence, the Taliban have made sure there has been violence to report, and the candidates […]
Afghanistan continues to find its way onto American news cycles and like most news, it’s of the bad and bloody variety. The US military is on the verge of releasing its latest strategic review of the conflict and how the US expects to go forward, with the hottest topic (more troops?) being avoided. The Taliban […]
While many, including myself, have advocated getting rid of the term ‘AfPak’, the Foreign Policy website has decided to take it full boar…devoting a whole page to ‘The Af-Pak Channel: Inside the War for South Asia‘. Though I haven’t had a chance to dig deep into the site’s contents and intriciacies, one can quickly see […]
Gorbachev tried it, and was nearly overthrown. But these days, two thirds of all Russians back a War on Alcoholism. This according to a nation-wide poll revealed today in the popular online newspaper Gazeta.ru under the headline: “Bored of Drinking”. Good news for Medvedev, who had earlier gingerly floated an idea of fighting alcoholism as […]
In any other news week, the title of most amusing story would certainly have gone to the BBC for comparing Putin to a character out of Brokeback Mountain: “Photographs of a bare-chested Mr Putin riding a horse through mountain scenery may of course put some people…in mind of a recent Hollywood film about gay cowboys”. […]
Three important issues to cover, let’s go! Ghani Gets a US Soapbox – Presidential hopeful Ashraf Ghani wrote a ‘why I should be President of Afghanistan and not Karzai’ piece in the Wall Street Journal this weekend and he comes out swinging. Ghani argues that Karzai ‘turned’, not ‘helped’ or ‘let’, but ‘turned’ Afghanistan into […]
When Iran’s presidential election turned into a full blown protest movement, I have to confess that my first regionally centered thoughts turned to Iraq, not Afghanistan. I wondered if the relatively peaceful and successful provincial elections held in Iraq had had an effect on their nearby Iranian neighbors. On the other side of Iran, of […]
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