In a normal election, Faisal Sabzwari would be busy on the campaign trail, giving speeches at large rallies, glad-handing voters in his constituency and cruising through neighborhoods in a cavalcade of cars festooned with his …
Taliban
As Fighting Season Begins, a Gruesome Terrorist Attack Shakes Afghanistan
Many died instantly, execution-style, with bullet wounds in the back of their heads. Some bled to death. And others perished in the initial explosion that cleared the way for militants to take over two government buildings in …
Video: Malala Yousafzai Goes Back to School
The 15-year-old Pakistani schoolgirl and womens’-education activist walked into a classroom on Tuesday for the first time since being shot in the head by the Taliban
The Terror of Toulouse: How Much Did the French Know About a Spree Shooter?
A year after Toulouse jihadi Mohammed Merah began a killing campaign that claimed seven lives, France marks the death of his first victim amid new indications that domestic intelligence services missed clear signs of the threat he posed
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
The Obama-Karzai Meeting: But Who Really Gets to Decide Afghanistan’s Future?
The end-game in the war torn country is complex–and troop levels may be the simplest piece of the puzzle
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 Malala Yousafzai Saga: Like Father, Like Daughter
As the world is astonished by the bravery of the young Pakistani girl, attention is being given to the man whose ambitions inspired her courage
Is the U.S. Admitting Defeat in Afghanistan?
The law of diminishing returns — and rising costs — appears likely to bring Western troops home from Afghanistan even as the Taliban insurgency rages
After November: 5 Middle East Headaches That Await the U.S.
Last week’s U.N. General Assembly session served up reminders that the next White House may have little option but to deal with a number of crises previously deferred
What We Can Learn from the Attacks on U.S. Embassies
This week’s U.S. embassy attacks are the product of intense jockeying for power in an Arab political landscape riven with both new and familiar challenges. Here are five key lessons to take away from an ugly week
Must-Reads from Around the World
Today’s picks include Japanese proposals to phase out nuclear plants, the decline of global child mortality rates and the success of center-ground parties at the Dutch election.
Afghanistan After 9/11: A Mission Unaccomplished
The legacy of the war in Afghanistan will be about much more than the attacks of 9/11 and the defeat of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda