Afghanistan

Torture Strategy

Posted on March 19th, 2006.

Seeing the latest images from the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq reminded me, once again, why every American soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan is considered a legitimate military target by those countries’ resistance movements. Keep in mind that the situation in Bagram/Afghanistan is even worse as nobody - except for the Red Cross - was allowed to see the prison from the inside. How many innocent people were killed in there with the help of the Karzai government?

U.S. Military Asking For Help

Posted on March 4th, 2006.

A couple of days ago I received an e-mail from a lady that works for the “Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center” (abbreviated as DLIFLC). She asked me to help her find the Afghan author of a Dari book who lives in the same city as me. She wanted to ask him for permission to [...]

Tora Bora - Afghanistan’s New Tourist Attraction

Posted on December 7th, 2004.

The British Telegraph is reporting that the Afghan Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry is planning on developing the Tora Bora mountains into a tourist attraction.

“Tourism was once a major industry for Afghanistan. In the 1960s and 1970s the country was a key stopping point on the Hippy Trail from Europe to India - famed for its spectacular scenery, ancient ruins and local intoxicants.”

Alright.

Now imagine if you will, a group of shirtless American tourists (let’s say: Republican males from Texas), aged 50-60, sporting black sunglasses, cowboy hats, and tropically-patterned Hawaiin shorts (a look they so naturally are comfortable in even in a covered Muslim country) collecting “souvenirs” from the mountains of Tora Bora.

The Afghanistan Justice Project

Posted on October 28th, 2004.

The Afghanistan Justice Project, established by Human Rights Watch and staffed with non-Afghans and Afghans from the entire spectrum of the country’s major ethnic groups, has published its first report on war crimes and and crimes against humanity committed by all of the parties to the conflict during the wars in Afghanistan, 1978 - 2001.
37

General Dostum’s Vice-President

Posted on October 21st, 2004.

Infamous Afghan warlord and mass-murderer General Dostum has adopted Shafiqa Habibi as his first vice-presidential running mate.

There would be nothing extraordinary about this fact, if it weren’t for her simply being a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005, journalist, and a women’s rights activist.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )

Lies About Afghanistan’s First Presidential Elections

Posted on October 13th, 2004.

The U.N. is selling/enlightening us with the informaton that 42% of the registered voters in Afghanistan’s first democratic presidential elections are women. Good news for Afghan women. Thank you U.S. for letting the women be heard. Unfortunately facts about the inequality of women and the lack of women’s suffrage cannot be denied.

Being an Afghan/Pashtoon myself and understanding the intricate and imbalanced Afghan culture and traditions, I am convinced that this magic number of 42% was never reached. Especially among the Pashtoons - that represent 42% of the total population - allowing women to participate in elections is highly unlikely…