Ashraf Ghani

Make Afghanistan great again?

The wait is finally over, Porkins Great Game is back! We begin by taking a look at the recent Parliamentary elections in Georgia. We break down how the elections turned out and analyze the results and what that may mean for the political future of Georgia. Christoph and I also touch on the most recent scandal in Georgia dealing with yet another leaked audio tape of Saakashvili. In our second segment we discuss the ongoing violence in Afghanistan as well as a ongoing peace negotiations. We begin with the recent peace deal between the government and famed heroin warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

A second round of peace talks between Afghan government officials and Taliban representatives, expected to begin before the end of July, 2015, suggests that some parties to the fighting want to declare a cease fire.  But even in the short time since the first round on July 7th, fighting has intensified.  The Taliban, the Afghan government forces, various militias and the U.S. have ramped up attacks, across Afghanistan.

On this long-awaited episode Christoph and I begin with a close look at the recent assassination of Russian politician Boris Nemtsov.  We analyze this bizarre case and the myriad explanations given by the Russian government as to who was really behind it.  Christoph and I discuss the links between Nemtsov’s alleged killers and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.  Christoph breaks down how this killing has exposed the deep divisions between the Federal Security Service (FSB) and Kadyrov and his cronies.  We explore why the FSB has been behind all of the major news leaks relating to this case, and

In our first episode of 2015, Christoph and I look at the most recent attack in the Chechen capital of Grozny.  We focus on who may have been behind the hours-long gun battle that left nearly 30 people dead.  First we consider the support that neo-nazis in the Ukrainian  parliament have been lending to the Chechen militants, both in rhetoric and possibly in material support as well.  We also speak about the recent capture of a high-ranking Chechen terrorist trying to enter into Crimea from Ukraine.  We then move on to the role that Turkey

On this week’s episode Christoph Germann and I cover three major flash points in Central Asia and the Caucasus region:  We start by examining some of the recent developments in Afghanistan, beginning with the surge in opium cultivation and heroin production.  We discuss how this was always one of the main goals of the NATO-led invasion and how integral opium is to black operations such as Gladio B.  Next we take a look at a story which received almost no coverage in the mainstream media, the “invasion” of Afghanistan by neighboring Turkmen

Afghanistan Analysts Network reported on 9th July that “he (Abdullah Abdullah) told the crowd that he had received phone calls from both US President Barack Obama and State Secretary John Kerry and had been told that Kerry would make a stop-over in Kabul on Friday. It was clear he wanted see what could come of that.”