As far as diplomatic prospects go, the omens don’t augur well. On Tuesday, the Afghan Taliban announced the opening of their first political office in the Qatari capital, Doha. They cut a ribbon, played their anthem, hoisted …
Hamid Karzai
NATO Hands Over Control to Afghan Forces as U.S. Plans Talks with the Taliban
The Afghanistan endgame looms as Kabul takes over security fully from the coalition of international troops in the country. On the same day, reports emerged detailing plans of talks in Qatar between U.S. officials and the Taliban.
The Lure of Office Space and Other Ways to Talk to the Taliban
The latest moves in the Afghanistan endgame have moved the insurgents closer to talking with the Kabul government — but there is no real breakthrough yet
Look the Other Way, Please: What Are Those Secret Talks in Paris All About?
Hush-hush talks staged near Paris by independent organizers bring leaders of enemy sides in the Afghan war together for informal talks. Will this lead to official peace negotiations?
The Taliban Execution: What Happens When a Nation Fails
A gruesome video depicts the Taliban’s take on adultery in today’s Afghanistan. But it also tells of the failures of an 11-year project of nation-building
As U.S. Eyes Afghanistan Withdrawal, Will China Up Its Role?
Beijing faces growing rivalries with its Pacific neighbors, but in Central Asia it finds a warmer welcome
A Dam Shame: What a Stalled Hydropower Project Says About Failures in Afghanistan
To be filed under: You have got to be kidding me.
One of US Aid’s biggest projects in Afghanistan, the $128 million rehabilitation of a key hydroelectric power plant launched in 2002, might never reach its potential wattage. …
Afghanistan: Cold-Blooded Calculations and a Looming Civil War
If President Obama’s plan for withdrawal demonstrated the unusual feat of simultaneously pissing off both sides of the aisle in the US, he need not despair: in Afghanistan he most certainly drew applause from both the Taliban, and Karzai – who crowed in an interview with CNN on Sunday that even if things got really bad, he would …
India Makes a Move in the Afghanistan Endgame
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Afghanistan this week at a crucial time for both countries and the troubled state lying between them. India and Pakistan have been engaged in a regional power struggle for influence over Afghanistan, and events of the last two days seemed to underline their differences. A day after India …
Karzai’s Guilt: His Cynical – and Deadly – Exploitation of a Koran Burning
This time, don’t blame so much the knuckle-dragging preacher in Gainesville, Fla. Or a 24-hour media culture that’s ready to hype any loser playing with matches. This time the real culpability lies with Afghan President Hamid Karzai – to whose reputation for cynical opportunism can now be added the 12 people who were tragically …
Defensive Position: Cameron Tells Karzai Why Troop Cuts Will Make UK Stronger
Sometimes press conferences involve as much diplomacy as, well, diplomacy. Before British Prime Minister David Cameron and Afghan President Hamid Karzai emerged from their London bilateral at lunchtime today, a Downing Street official told assembled journalists that a tight schedule permitted only two questions to the leaders. This did …