Tag Archives: War in Afghanistan

Ex-Pakistani spy chief says Afghanistan war cannot be won

A former head of Pakistani intelligence, Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul, has stated that the conflict in Afghanistan cannot be won. Gul, whose agency worked closely with the Taliban prior to the U.S. invasion and continues to maintain ties with the organization, argued in an interview with CNN that the U.S. presence in Afghanistan is “unjust” […]

New UN report: Afghan civilian deaths on the rise

According to a new UN report, the number of civilian casualties for the first six months of 2010 was 1,271 deaths, up from 1,013 deaths in the first six months of 2009.  (A recent Afghan human rights agency report put the total number of civilians killed between January and July at 1,325). The percentage of […]

Corruption increases in Afghanistan

A recent report from Integrity Watch Afghanistan has found that corruption is steadily on the rise in Afghanistan. National Corruption Survey 2010 reports that the Afghan population paid twice as much in bribes in 2009 as it did in 2006: today bribery represents “a burden of 1 billion USD on the Afghan GDP.” The massive, […]

Petraeus to tweak Afghan strategy: More civilian casualties ahead?

On July 5th, U.S. Senator John McCain told reporters that the new U.S. Commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, will probably tweak the current U.S strategy in Afghanistan. After meetings with Petraeus and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, McCain said that “General Petraeus is reviewing the entire rules of engagement and probably there will be some […]

Obama ditches U.S. commander in Afghanistan, replacement sees long conflict ahead

On Wednesday, June 23rd, President Obama announced the dismissal of General Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan. McChrystal was terminated due to comments reported in an article in Rolling Stone magazine, in which he and his staff insulted Obama’s National Security Advisor and Vice-President Joe Biden and even mocked the President himself. […]