President Ahmadinejad’s cabinet picks are both progressive and hard-line. His choices upset both the clerics and the West. On one hand, Ahmadinejad is breaking a taboo by appointing three women ministers to the cabinet. On the other hand, he is continuing the same anti-West attitude by appointing a minister accused of bombing a Jewish center […]
As discussed in my previous post, Iranian Women: Voices to be Heard, women have played a prominent role in the pre-election campaigning and the post-election protests. All four candidates made promises to women in the election campaign, including Ahmadinejad, who spoke of empowering women. It looks like this is one election promise that Ahmadinejad is […]
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 […]
The images coming out of Iran -protests against the disputed presidential election and the brutal crackdown by the government forces- show the intensity and fervor with which Iranians are pursuing more freedom and democracy. These images also provide an important insight on the role Iranian women are playing. I thought this article published in the […]
Here are three Afghan-related pieces I read recently that I want to comment on: 1. MountainRunner.us, Tom Broun Tom Broun, a US military officer assigned to NATO, discusses the implications of the ongoing ‘Why Afghanistan Matters’ contest being hosted on Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube on a guest post for Mountainrunner.us. Broun analyzes the media coverage […]
Afghan school girls have been targets of the Taliban ever since the group starting gaining power in the country in 1994 and the group remains vigilant in stopping women from gaining access to such basic rights, especially an education. The Taliban have burned down hundreds of girl schools in the past few years and has […]
Afghanistan is once again in the news for many reasons. First off, Elina at FPA’s Central Asia blog has reported that not only has the US officially secured a transit route through Uzbekistan, but also that Kyrgyzstan is actually still considering allowing the US to stay at the Manas Air Base. Hmmm. Secondly, Sec of […]
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