Descent Into Chaos - An Interview with Ahmed Rashid on Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Taliban , by Wajahat Ali - CounterpunchAfghanistan's Descent - New Book Explains the U.S.'s Nation Building Failure , review by Spencer Ackerman - Washington Independent
Distracted and weakened, Nato is lost - The alliance, influenced by the US, is chasing phantom enemies. Meanwhile in Afghanistan, the real ones prevail....So concerned is Nato about its image that this month it has hired a senior executive of Coca-Cola to help do something about it...."Nato is not a washing powder and it doesn't need rebranding", a defensive Nato spokesman told journalists... , by Richard Norton-Taylor - Guardian
The Afghan fire looks set to spread, but there is a way out - Far from being a noble cause, the occupation of Afghanistan is poisoning the region and will never bring peace or security....Far from reducing the threat of terrorism, this crucible of the war on terror has simply spread it around the region, bringing forth an increasingly potent campaign of resistance and giving a new lease of life to a revamped Taliban as a champion of Pashtun nationalism , by Seumas Milne - Guardian
All Counterinsurgency Is Local - Politically and strategically, the most important level of governance in Afghanistan is neither national nor regional nor provincial. Afghan identity is rooted in the woleswali: the districts within each province that are typically home to a single clan or tribe. Historically, unrest has always bubbled up from this stratum — whether against Alexander, the Victorian British, or the Soviet Union , by Thomas H. Johnson and M. Chris Mason - Atlantic Monthly
The guests at Kabul's garden parties - Summer in Afghanistan is the fighting season, and the time for Kabul garden parties. At diplomatic, military, and donor agency receptions it is always interesting to count the number of known and rumored drug lords and human rights abusers in attendance , by Nick Grono and Joanna Nathan - Boston Globe
Germany Discovers a War in Afghanistan - For years, Germans have preferred to see their country's presence in Afghanistan as armed development assistance. That myth is now becoming more difficult to maintain as the violence spreads to the north where the Germans are based - Spiegel
The US strategy for Afghanistan won't work - Covert operations only succeed when they have strong local allies who want outside support....Bush has not adopted a new policy, but is resorting to covert operations, the political disadvantages of which are obvious, and military benefits dubious , by Patrick Cockburn - Independent
Ashdown: What I told Gordon Brown about Afghanistan - We do not have enough troops, aid or international will to make Afghanistan much different from what it has been for the last 1000 years – a society in which the gun drugs and tribalism have always played a part....On the military side we also need to understand that we probably cannot defeat the Taliban – only the Afghan people can do this - Spectator Coffee House
A Man, A Plan, Afghanistan - If Obama really wants to smite Al Qaeda, this is what he should do....To defeat the Taliban and Al Qaeda, the United States must start dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan as one region, not as separate entities , by Peter Bergen - TNR
Insurgents in Afghanistan show strength, sophistication - A summer of heavy fighting during which Western military leaders had hoped to seize the initiative from Islamic militants has instead revealed an insurgency capable of employing complex new tactics and fighting across a broad swath of Afghanistan , by Laura King - LAT
Time to Rethink Tactics Against Taleban - Afghanistan has gone from “Good War” to “Losing Battle” almost overnight....the world has finally woken up to the fact that Afghanistan is spinning out of control , by Jean MacKenzie - IWPR
Afghanistan's tipping point? - This is a critical time for the region, with US and Nato forces facing stalemate and the Taliban resurgent....What western intelligence and military officials call the most dangerous part of the world has reached a critical juncture , by Richard Norton-Taylor - Guardian
The secret NATO report
French soldiers unprepared for Taliban ambush: report - A secret NATO review obtained by The Globe and Mail shows that the French who were killed in August did not have enough bullets, radios and other equipment. By contrast, the insurgents were dangerously well prepared , by Graeme Smith - Globe and Mail
France defends military's might in Afghanistan - NATO report saying ambushed troops lacked sufficient ammunition, communication equipment threatens to broaden debate , by Susan Sachs - Globe and Mail
NATO denies ambushed French troops were ill-equipped - NATO on Sunday sought to downplay "leaked email correspondence" that suggested French soldiers had been ambushed by better-armed Taliban fighters in Afghanistan last month - AFP
The Afghan fire looks set to spread, but there is a way out - Far from being a noble cause, the occupation of Afghanistan is poisoning the region and will never bring peace or security....Far from reducing the threat of terrorism, this crucible of the war on terror has simply spread it around the region, bringing forth an increasingly potent campaign of resistance and giving a new lease of life to a revamped Taliban as a champion of Pashtun nationalism , by Seumas Milne - Guardian
All Counterinsurgency Is Local - Politically and strategically, the most important level of governance in Afghanistan is neither national nor regional nor provincial. Afghan identity is rooted in the woleswali: the districts within each province that are typically home to a single clan or tribe. Historically, unrest has always bubbled up from this stratum — whether against Alexander, the Victorian British, or the Soviet Union , by Thomas H. Johnson and M. Chris Mason - Atlantic Monthly
The guests at Kabul's garden parties - Summer in Afghanistan is the fighting season, and the time for Kabul garden parties. At diplomatic, military, and donor agency receptions it is always interesting to count the number of known and rumored drug lords and human rights abusers in attendance , by Nick Grono and Joanna Nathan - Boston Globe
Germany Discovers a War in Afghanistan - For years, Germans have preferred to see their country's presence in Afghanistan as armed development assistance. That myth is now becoming more difficult to maintain as the violence spreads to the north where the Germans are based - Spiegel
The US strategy for Afghanistan won't work - Covert operations only succeed when they have strong local allies who want outside support....Bush has not adopted a new policy, but is resorting to covert operations, the political disadvantages of which are obvious, and military benefits dubious , by Patrick Cockburn - Independent
Ashdown: What I told Gordon Brown about Afghanistan - We do not have enough troops, aid or international will to make Afghanistan much different from what it has been for the last 1000 years – a society in which the gun drugs and tribalism have always played a part....On the military side we also need to understand that we probably cannot defeat the Taliban – only the Afghan people can do this - Spectator Coffee House
A Man, A Plan, Afghanistan - If Obama really wants to smite Al Qaeda, this is what he should do....To defeat the Taliban and Al Qaeda, the United States must start dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan as one region, not as separate entities , by Peter Bergen - TNR
Insurgents in Afghanistan show strength, sophistication - A summer of heavy fighting during which Western military leaders had hoped to seize the initiative from Islamic militants has instead revealed an insurgency capable of employing complex new tactics and fighting across a broad swath of Afghanistan , by Laura King - LAT
Time to Rethink Tactics Against Taleban - Afghanistan has gone from “Good War” to “Losing Battle” almost overnight....the world has finally woken up to the fact that Afghanistan is spinning out of control , by Jean MacKenzie - IWPR
Afghanistan's tipping point? - This is a critical time for the region, with US and Nato forces facing stalemate and the Taliban resurgent....What western intelligence and military officials call the most dangerous part of the world has reached a critical juncture , by Richard Norton-Taylor - Guardian
The secret NATO report
French soldiers unprepared for Taliban ambush: report - A secret NATO review obtained by The Globe and Mail shows that the French who were killed in August did not have enough bullets, radios and other equipment. By contrast, the insurgents were dangerously well prepared , by Graeme Smith - Globe and Mail
France defends military's might in Afghanistan - NATO report saying ambushed troops lacked sufficient ammunition, communication equipment threatens to broaden debate , by Susan Sachs - Globe and Mail
NATO denies ambushed French troops were ill-equipped - NATO on Sunday sought to downplay "leaked email correspondence" that suggested French soldiers had been ambushed by better-armed Taliban fighters in Afghanistan last month - AFP
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