(CN) — Whatever happened to the Donald Trump who tweeted in 2013, “Let’s get out of Afghanistan … we waste billions there. Nonsense!” And whatever happened to the reality TV star who used to tell under-performers, “you’re fired”? Today, as commander in chief, President Trump is indefinitely extending the Afghan war’s record as the longest in U.S. history. He’s […]
Exclusive: Without solid economic, political and ideological bases, the U.S. lacks the legitimacy and authority it needs to operate beyond its borders, argues Nicolas J.S. Davies in this essay. By Nicolas J.S. Davies I recently reread Michael Mann’s book, Incoherent…Read more →
(ANTIWAR.COM) — The UN has offered their official accounting of Afghan civilian casualties in 2017 on Thursday, with more than 10,000 casualties including 3,438 killed, and 7,015 wounded. The overall toll was 9% lower than the previous year. The decrease was mostly the result of fewer civilian deaths in the course of ground combat, likely because the fighting […]
(ANTIWAR.COM) — Speaking to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Assistant Secretary of Defense Randall Schriver on Tuesday revealed that the Pentagon expects the cost of the Afghan War in 2018 to come to $45 billion. This obviously is subject to change, in the face of more probable escalations. The cost includes $13 billion in direct cost for US […]
President Trump’s first year in office brought an escalation of military aggression abroad as he built on the interventions of previous administrations, but there are steps America can take to move towards a more peaceful future, writes retired U.S. Air…Read more →
In the new U.S. National Defense Strategy, military planners bemoan the erosion of the U.S.’s “competitive edge,” but the reality is that they are strategizing to maintain the American Empire in a chaotic world, explains Nicolas J.S. Davies. By Nicolas…Read more →
President Trump’s continued Afghan War pursues the same failed path as the prior 16 years, with the U.S. political/media elites learning no lessons, says former Marine officer Matthew Hoh in an interview with the American Herald Tribune. Interviewer Mohsen Abdelmoumen: As…Read more →
To understand why the 16-year-old U.S. war in Afghanistan continues to fail requires a look from the ground where Afghans live and suffer, a plight breeding strong opposition to the U.S. presence, explains Kathy Kelly. By Kathy Kelly On a…Read more →
Exclusive: Another part of the U.S. mainstream media’s rash of Russia-bashing is to claim that Moscow is arming Afghanistan’s Taliban, but again the evidence doesn’t match the accusations, writes Jonathan Marshall. By Jonathan Marshall News flash: The United States is…Read more →
(ANTIWAR.COM) — For the last 16 years, the Pentagon’s “progress” in the occupation of Afghanistan has been measured by officials through multiple different statistics, and one most often cited has been the size of the Afghan military. Those numbers have struggled recently, with Afghanistan not recruiting well nor retaining its recruits. So that’s not a metric anymore.
