“We can’t lose focus” after Bin Laden’s death, said the former Secretary of State, the woman who helped author the most costly loss of focus in the history of America’s fight against terrorism. Of course, Condi Rice had no earthly idea when she spouted her “mushroom cloud” warning years ago that Saddam Hussein had long given up his nuclear [...]
Archive for the ‘Taleban’ Category
AfPak: Too Big To Fail?
Posted in 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, defense spending, democracy, Fundamentalism, Iraq, islam, Middle East, Muslims, nuclear weapon, Obama, Osama, Pakistan, Radical, revolution, September 11, South Asia, Taleban, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, America, Americans, defense spending, Iraq, islam, Middle East, Muslims, nuclear, Pakistan, South Asia, Taliban, U.S. Foreign Policy on May 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Demonstrations, With Air Support?
Posted in 9/11, Al Qaeda, democracy, Egypt, Europe, Fundamentalism, Hamas, Hizbullah, Iran, islam, Middle East, Muslims, Obama, Osama, Radical, revolution, September 11, South Asia, Taleban, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, youth, tagged 9/11, Al Qaeda, America, Americans, Arab, democracy, Egypt, Europe, Hamas, islam, Libya, Middle East, Muslims, Obama, Radical, Saudi Arabia, Taliban, terrorism, Tunisia, U.S. Foreign Policy, youth on March 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
“Barack Obama has now fired more cruise missiles than all other Nobel Peace Prize winners combined.” It’s good for a laugh. A cheap laugh. The blogger who wrote this clearly doesn’t have any appreciation for the reality that confronts American presidents on a daily basis. No doubt he or she also did not have any [...]
A Thinking Man’s Foreign Policy
Posted in Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, defense spending, Fundamentalism, India, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, Pakistan, Radical, South Asia, Taleban, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged Afghanistan, America, Americans, defense spending, India, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, Radical, Saudi Arabia, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy on November 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I share Eugene Robinson’s well-articulated concern in his most recent Washington Post column. The numbers are stark: America’s share of total world defense spending is 46.5%. Second place goes to China at a meager 6.6%. In an age of withering economic hardship at home and growing deficits and debt, why do we continue to subsidize a [...]
The Lost Narrative
Posted in 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Egypt, Fundamentalism, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, Obama, Osama, Pakistan, Radical, September 11, Somalia, Sunni, Taleban, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, America, Americans, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, Obama, Radical, Saudi Arabia, Sunni, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy on August 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I won’t attempt to decipher the swirling debate surrounding the manufactured controversy of Park 51, the “mosque” (actually, cultural center modeled on the Jewish YMCA at 92nd Street) “at Ground Zero” (actually, several blocks away, like the other mosques already in the area.). All heat and very little light, it’s clear the only thing this debate [...]
“Touches Pas A Mon Liban”
Posted in Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Europe, Fundamentalism, Hizbullah, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, Muslims, Sunni, Taleban, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Americans, Europe, Iran, Iranians, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, mullah, Muslims, Palestinians, Radical, U.S. Foreign Policy on August 4, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
I don’t usually write about a status update on Facebook, but this one seemed to encapsulate so many of the complexities we deal with when trying to understand the shifting sands of identity in the Middle East. I haven’t seen or talked to this “friend” in several years, since a few too many drinks and [...]
Top Secret America, in Denial
Posted in 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Fundamentalism, Iraq, islam, Middle East, Muslims, Obama, Osama, Pakistan, Radical, September 11, Taleban, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Americans, Iraq, islam, Middle East, Muslims, Obama, Radical, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy on July 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The dust has yet to settle surrounding the twin revelations of the last several weeks: the Washington Post’s revealing expose on America’s mammoth national security apparatus with its ties to big business and the Wikileaks data dump of classified reporting from the front lines of the spiraling Afghan war. Taken together, the two episodes cannot [...]
No Reflection, On Both Sides
Posted in 9/11, Al Qaeda, Egypt, Fundamentalism, India, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, Obama, Pakistan, Radical, September 11, South Asia, Taleban, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged 9/11, Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, America, Americans, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Middle East, Muslims, Pakistan, Palestine, Palestinians, Radical, South Asia, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy on July 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
A pair of instances recently reminded me how both sides- the “West” (more specifically, the United States) and the Muslim World- have engaged in so little self-reflection since the events of 9/11. It is much easier to project outward than to take a hard look at your own society. Problems are no longer yours when [...]
Fighting Extremism: Harnessing our Strengths
Posted in Al Qaeda, Egypt, Fundamentalism, islam, Middle East, Muslims, Pakistan, Radical, South Asia, Taleban, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged Al Qaeda, America, Americans, Middle East, Muslims, Pakistan, Radical, South Asia, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy on May 10, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
One wonders what would have happened if the Times Square car bomb attempt had occurred in Phoenix instead of the teeming, diverse neighborhoods of NYC. What if the street vendors who tipped off police with vital information that eventually led to Faisal Shahzad’s capture (by his shoe laces) were Latino instead of African-American? Given Arizona’s [...]
Talibaning Times Square
Posted in Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Fundamentalism, India, islam, Middle East, Muslims, Osama, Pakistan, Radical, South Asia, Taleban, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, India, islam, Middle East, Mumbai, Muslims, nuclear, Pakistan, Radical, Saudi Arabia, South Asia, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy on May 5, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
It’s too early to know all the facts in the failed Times Square car bomb, but its looks like at least one US citizen of Pakistani heritage was involved and that the plot emanated at least in part from South Asia. Coinciding with the recent conviction of the lone surviving Mumbai terrorist, also a Pakistani trained and [...]
Strange Bedfellows
Posted in Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, Egypt, elections, Hamas, Hizbullah, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, Muslims, Pakistan, Radical, South Asia, Sunni, Taleban, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy, tagged Afghanistan, Al Qaeda, America, Americans, Egypt, elections, Hamas, Iran, Iraq, islam, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, Muslims, Pakistan, Palestine, Palestinians, South Asia, Taliban, terrorism, U.S. Foreign Policy on April 7, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
You wonder what Afghan president Hamid Karzai was thinking over the past several days as he unleashed a fusillade of vitriol against his primary benefactor, the United States. His comments, such as “foreigners” were responsible for the presidential election fraud that declared him the outright winner, or that he was prepared to join the Taliban [...]
