Afghanistan’s Soccer Captain: Meet the Humble Hero of a War-Torn Nation
Without enough money to buy spare jerseys, or even pay for hotels, the Afghan team have somehow emerged as regional champions
Articles from Contributor
The Dead Afghan’s Tale: How Afghanistan’s Poorest Bear the Brunt of the War
The young boy does not say a word. His eyes water as he turns away, staring out the window or at the mud walls of his family home in Dasht-e-Qala, in Afghanistan’s northern Takhar province. Just across the river and over the …
Young Afghans Flock to Higher Education, but Jobs Remain Scarce
By the time the gates opened at 10 a.m., the crowd had grown almost unmanageable. As if at a rock concert, young men and women thronged Kabul’s historic Babur Garden, jostling their way to the front. But this was no music …
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 …
How Afghanistan Is Beginning to Deal With Workplace Sexual Harassment
Women make up only a small part of the Afghan workforce — perhaps many fear the behavior of the men they have to work with
Hamid Karzai Welcomes Chuck Hagel to Kabul — His Own Way
The Afghan President went on a tirade supposedly about how the Taliban were virtually in collusion with the U.S. — just in time for the first visit by the new U.S. Secretary of Defense
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
Afghanistan’s IED Complex: Inside the Taliban Bombmaking Industry
“I am here in Kandahar on a short vacation,” says the young man, about 27, who we will call Mullah Kalam. His beard is trimmed neat; he is wearing a black leather jacket and a striped beige turban. Kalam has been a student for …
Tale of the Taliban Bomber: Behind the Plot to Kill Afghanistan’s Spy Chief
For Asadullah Khalid, the morning of Dec. 6 — the day the Taliban tried to kill him — was as routine as any other. Dressed in an embroidered beige shirt, Kabul’s recently-appointed intelligence chief signed papers and …
What Iran and Pakistan Want from the Afghans: Water
Iran and Pakistan depend on river basins that flow out of Afghanistan. And Afghans are growing paranoid that its neighbors are trying to take more water than the country can afford to give