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thats funny

A number of years ago, I saw this movie. I thought it was really well done, if a bit sentimental.

I need to revise that opinion. This week in The New York Times runs an amazing story about girls whose families dress them as boys to survive and cope:
There are no statistics about how many Afghan [...]
can believe what i am reading, so unfair

Earlier this week, I tried to show some optimism about the Afghan elections last weekend by saying they were less violent than the 2009 presidential election. I was wrong to do so. The Guardian reports:
The US-led coalition force in Afghanistan has conceded that last week’s parliamentary elections were far more violent than it first claimed [...]
how does this impact my state

My cerebellum just shorted out.
Some of the Red team’s ideas seem to be getting attention. Its report on how the Taliban seized power in the 1990s — by building a network of dependencies with public officials — is required reading for commanders who want to re-evaluate how U.S. troops are prosecuting the war, and how [...]
how does this impact my state

James Gordon Meek has a sad, sad story:
All Army Col. Lawrence Sellin wanted to do was be a real warrior killing Taliban, not a PowerPoint Ranger killing time in Afghanistan’s rear echelon.
After the Green Beret with a Ph.D. piped up about it in an online column, he got sacked from Afghan war boss Gen. David [...]
and i though i was the only one to see it this way

The following is another guest post from Umair. — Nathan
With the recent meetings between Indian members of Parliament, All Parties Hurriyat Conference and the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, it is only natural to ask if anything will really change. The simple answer is no. That being said, the fact that the government has sent [...]
wonder what this really means

I have had it to HERE with all the talk about Hamid Karzai. Face it: we’re stuck with him. And because we’re stuck with him, we better figure out why things aren’t working. Corruption is too simple an answer, and misses a much more important aspect to his failed tenure as President. I explain for [...]
does anyone know when this will take effect

Earlier tonight on my way home I stopped at a Borders (or Barnes and Noble; I forget) and read through half of Bob Woodward’s new book, Obama’s Wars.  I was left with the distinct impression that the president does not favor the war in Afghanistan as it has been fought. Considering the efforts, lives, and [...]
this is bogus, who would think

In responding to Josh’s very articulate defense of Hamid Karzai in Foreign Policy, let us first review the criticisms of Karzai, as mentioned by his defenders: He has received treatment for manic depression (but doesn’t take his meds), treats Ahmadinejad better then Western leaders, blames “foreigners” for the fraud that won him the election, threatened to join the Taliban, and is generally foul-tempered, undiplomatic, and frequently downright irrational. These things are bad enough – collectively, given the incredibly important circumstances, they’re absolutely damning. However, his defenders do not usually mention that Karzai manages and runs the opium trade, systematically steals elections (plural), fires (or failing that, assassinates) promising political competition, simultaneously extorts the international community and uses it as his enforcer, and generally acts like the wannabe dictator of the country. Taken together, “damning” doesn’t do them justice. This is our guy in Afghanistan? This is the best we can do? There aren’t any other options? Really…!?
it should be interested what change will this make

This past weekend, U.S. helicopters staged an assault on Pakistani territory, killing 30. It is, as we all know, something of a magic number. I explain this week for PBS:
We know those happen routinely, and we can infer from the presence of the magic number of 30 dead bad guys that we probably don’t know [...]
how does this impact my state