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
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
11 Years After 9/11, the Holy World War Is Over and All Jihad is Local
Al-Qaeda is in retreat and Osama bin Laden’s dream lies in ruins. So what next for Washington and its struggle against extremist jihadists?
Unfriendly Fire: Can the U.S. and NATO Prevent ‘Green on Blue’ Attacks in Afghanistan?
Doing proper background checks to ascertain if recruits have Taliban affiliations is just one of the many challenges facing the U.S. and NATO as they prepare for withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of 2014
The Toulouse Terrorist: Was He or Was He Not a Lone Wolf?
Report in le Monde detailing declassified intelligence reports suggest Toulouse killer Mohammed Merah had far more contacts with presumed radical allies than previously known–but security officials contend it doesn’t undermine …
Why Afghanistan Isn’t a Campaign Issue: Neither Obama nor Romney Have a Solution
The ‘systemic problem’ of uniformed Afghans attacking their American mentors raises questions about the viability of a bipartisan exit plan
Must-Reads from Around the World, August 14, 2012
Fresh revelations against the Syrian regime, Pakistan promises military action in its tribal belt and yet more details on the basis for the federal probes into Las Vegas Sands’ Macau ventures.
Afghan Princelings: Are the Children of the Mujahedin Ready to Rule?
Educated in some of the best schools in the world, the scion of commanders involved in four decades of war return to a country at the crossroads. Can they transform the future of Afghanistan?
Afghanistan Sacks Its Security Chiefs: How Will That Affect U.S. Forces?
The parliamentary denoucement of the ministers of defense and the interior may be a sign of Afghan democracy at work but it makes the security situation much more volatile for U.S. forces preparing to withdraw
Must-Reads from Around the World, July 11, 2012
Today’s required reading: an interview with the Taliban, reporting from flood-hit Russia and go “inside Syria.”
Hidden in Afghanistan: Soviet Veterans of a Previous War Compare and Tremble
There are only a few of them left — deserters and MIAs of the huge Soviet Red Army divisions sent in to control Afghanistan. But they still remember how it all ended — and worry that the American war will end the same way
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
Taliban Terror or Mass Hysteria: Who Is Poisoning Afghanistan’s Girls?
A recent spate of incidents in which dozens of girls have been forced from school, feeling sick, has set Afghanistan in a tizzy over what the source of the mysterious maladies may be.