Ahmed Rashid on the flood disaster in Pakistan

summary:
Because the pakistani government has lost ground in flood hit provinces KP and Balochistan, and the international relief response has not yet met minimum requirements, it is likely that extremism will increase rapidly in the area. That will not only affect the war in Afghanistan, as the Pakistan Army is not capable of defending the [...]

the missing sense of war

Matthew Hoh, high ranking diplomat in Afghanistan, quits his job and sums up what more and more politicians and people around the world think: Afghanistan is not to win for anybody (not even the Afghans).
read the letter … (in english)
read the letter … (in german)

The Life of two foreigners in Kandahar

Most interesting article of two western foreigners living in Kandahar, the heart of Taliban resistance. They report about he boredom of sitting in their flat, because leaving would be too dangerous, but also about the thrill living so close to the “faltline” of history.

The Case for Humility in Afghanistan

Steve Coll analyses the current process of rethinking AfPak strategy by the Obama administration.

Afghan Alliance Building

When US troops entered Afghanistan, there prime target was to find Osama Bin Laden. Finding a base in hostile Taliban land made the US choose their allies with two eyes closed. As long as the warlords of the Northern Alliance were fighting against the Taliban, US troops would turn away from drug trafficing, smuggeling and human rights abuse.

The McChrystal Report – a link collection

The report by General Stanley McChrystal, date 30th of August.

These three articles in the Economist ask whether to “surge” or to go “surgical”, thereby presenting the two opposing parties when it comes to the future strategy in Afghanistan. While the one side, represented by Vice President Joe Biden, Obama’s security adviser James Jones and a [...]

The McChrystal Report – a summary

40.000 – from Kabul to Washington this number achieved media attention a number gets not that often (except maybe the Down Jones: 10.000 break through). 40.000 this is the speculated number of troops the new ISAF Commander General McChrystal wants to finally win the war in Afghanistan. McChrystal’s report on the situation in Afghanistan is [...]

Obamas Retter (Obama’s saviors)

Ulrich Ladurner seeks out the “key players” of the West’s plan that Afghanistan will soon be able to stand on its own feet. As in Germany, Italy, Netherlands etc. the support for a continued engagement in Afghanistan sinks rapidly, the call fo a rushed training of the ANA and Afghan Police Force has become the [...]