Tag Archives: Afghanistan

War-making vs. Peacemaking

May 9, 2022 9/11 Led to an outburst of international sympathy and support for the US. President George W. Bush vowed vengeance and ordered the invasion of Afghanistan, where al-Qaeda’s leadership was based. Russian President Putin was the first foreign … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The World Needs a Broad Coalition Against Terrorism

October 12, 2021 On July 8, 2021, in remarks on the drawdown of US forces in Afghanistan President Biden said: “We went for two reasons: one, to bring Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell, as I said at … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How Long the “Wait and See” to Judge the Taliban

September 20, 2021 The world is waiting to see whether the Taliban has changed or not, if so to what extent. Countries involved in Afghan affairs know that they would not witness  fundamental change but hope for a move towards … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Global War on Terror: Two Decades On

September 13, 2021 A few days after 9/11 President George W. Bush, in impromptu remarks said, “this crusade, this war on terrorism, is going to take a while. His use of the word “crusade” raised concerns in Europe among those … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The End of America’s Longest War

September 6, 2021 In an earlier post I said, “Unfortunately for Mr. Biden, the chaos and shock triggered by the evacuations overshadowed the rational of his decision to withdraw…” On August 31, in “Remarks on the End of the War … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Retreat from Afghanistan and Turkey’s Victory Day

August 30, 2021 Many military and intelligence experts predicted that the withdrawal from Afghanistan would not be an easy operation. With chaotic evacuations and the devastating twin bomb attacks of last Thursday, they proved right. Through the withdrawal Washington not … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Coming to Grips with Taliban’s Comeback

August 23, 2021 On February 19, 2021, in his first address to the global audience at the 2021 Virtual Munich Security Conference President Biden said, “I speak today as President of the United States at the very start of my … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“No Military Solution”

August 9, 2021 In the past decade, the phrase “no military solution to the conflict” became a diplomatic cliché. In November 2013, speaking to the BBC  about the situation in Syria, Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad said that there is no … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Turkey’s New Refugee Challenge

August 4, 2021 In my last post, dated August 2, I said that the increasing number of Afghans crossing into Turkey from Iran leads one to question whether the Kabul subcontract is just about the airport or more. Later in … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Kabul Subcontract

August 2, 2021 Whether Turkish troops would stay at Kabul airport beyond withdrawal has become another controversial topic of our foreign and security policy. In my last post I asked the following questions: •          Would Turkish troops fight the Taliban … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment