Insurgency

De-radicalizing The Pakistani Taliban

Shehzad H. Qazi | Posted 12.04.2011 | Religion

Read More: Islam, Taliban De-Radicalization, Pakistan, De-Radicalization, Swat Valley, Pakistani Militants, Pakistani Taliban, Taliban, Al Qaeda, Insurgency, Counterinsurgency, Religion News

Putting captured militants through systemized de-radicalization and rehabilitation programs is a necessary tactic in the counterinsurgency in Pakistan.

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To Kill Or Not To Kill That Is The Question

Clare Macnaughton | Posted 10.17.2011 | UK Politics

Read More: Insurgency, Sas, Counter Insurgency, Stop the War, General Petraeus, Peace, Special Forces, Afghanistan War, Sbs, UK Politics News

As an atheist, pacifist, feminist, omnivore mother and wife of a military Chinook pilot the morality of killing is something I have pondered often. Is...

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Governments, Wake Up!

Patricia DeGennaro | Posted 10.12.2011 | World

Read More: New World Order, Financial Crisis, Insurgency, Global Politics, Arab Spring, UK Riots, Global Economic Crisis, Economic Crisis, World News

The idiom "the calm before the storm" signifies a quiet period before great excitement or activity. In case our leaders are missing it, the calm is o...

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Afghanistan: The Spreading Insurgency (AUDIO)

Kimberly Abbott | Posted 08.30.2011 | World

Read More: Hamid Karzai, Kabul, Afghanistan Insurgency, Insurgency, Afghanistan, International Crisis Group, World News

The government's impotence and the staggering insecurity in Afghanistan have left officials with much to gain from partnering with insurgents. I spoke with Crisis Group's Senior Analyst for Afghanistan about the insurgent threat.

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Century Foundation Calls for Real Political Talks Now to End the Afghanistan War

Derrick Crowe | Posted 05.25.2011 | World

Read More: Insurgency, Negotiations, Afghanistan, Taliban, Century Foundation, Rethink Afghanistan, Brave New Foundation, World News

This latest report reinforces the view that the sooner the U.S. abandons its demand for a de facto surrender before talks can begin, the better.

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Petraeus, McCain Continue Afghanistan War Spin, But No One Buys It (Nor Should They)

Derrick Crowe | Posted 05.25.2011 | World

Read More: Insurgency, Petraeus, Rethink Afghanistan, Civilian Casualties, Propaganda, Taliban, Spin, Afghanistan, Congress, Mccain, Counterinsurgency, Brave New Foundation, World News

General Petraeus and McCain can try to spin the situation in Afghanistan all they want, but the fact is that their counterinsurgency gamble failed, and the American people want our troops out, pronto.

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Afghanistan War Not Worth the Burning of Children and Treasure

Derrick Crowe | Posted 05.25.2011 | World

Read More: Cost of War, Petraeus, #Rethinkafghanistan, Afghanistan War, Obama, War Profiteering, War in Afghanistan, Fraud, Insurgency, Fuel Theft, Tankers, Rethink Afghanistan, Civilian Casualties, Meetup, Taliban, Afghanistan, Insurgents, Defense Spending, World News

With our money fueling the insurgency and our killing of civilians driving more people to join the Taliban's side every week, it's little wonder that the insurgency continues to grow in size and sophistication.

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Democracy Matters in the Middle East

Jay Mandle | Posted 05.25.2011 | Politics

Read More: Democracy, Middle East, Foreign Policy, Isolation, Arab World, Egypt Protests, Insurgency, Politics News

The Obama Administration's cautious response has worsened the gap between Arab support for democratic values and hostility in the Middle East towards the United States government.

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Just Egypt? Or World Insurgency?

Patricia DeGennaro | Posted 05.25.2011 | World

Read More: Iran, Insurgency, Yemen, Lebanon, World, Tunisia, Egypt, Revolution, Turkey the Great Game, Hezbollah, Hamas, Al Qaeda, World News

Egypt's people reached a tipping point. What has now become a national revolution is a real time example of the global frustration over The Great Game.

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Experts Say Arrests of Taliban Leaders to Deflate Insurgency

Abdulhadi Hairan | Posted 05.25.2011 | World

Read More: Insurgency, Kabul, Pakistan, Reintegration, Taliban, Afghanistan, Karachi, Mullah Baradar, Reconciliation, World News

For now it is not clear whether Pakistan will hand over the captured Taliban leaders to Afghanistan, but Pakistan's army chief recently visited Kabul to seek bilateral cooperation on the matter.

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Insurgency Is Hit Hard in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Abdulhadi Hairan | Posted 05.25.2011 | World

Read More: Insurgency, Hakimullah Mehsud, Pakistan, Taliban, Afghanistan, Peace Jirga, Karachi, Mullah Homar, Tribal Areas, Mullah Baradar, Reconciliation, World News

Right now, there is a critical opportunity for the international community to continue tracking down top Taliban leaders in Pakistan and disconnecting them from the local commanders in Afghanistan.

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Reconciliation and Trust Building in Afghanistan

Abdulhadi Hairan | Posted 05.25.2011 | World

Read More: Iran, Pakistan, Terrorism, Taliban, Afghanistan, Insurgency, Reconciliation, World News

The U.N., the U.S., the Afghan government, and many other countries and entities have been very busy right now paving way for a reconciliation plan with the Taliban.

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The Pentagon Gives Itself an E for Effort on the Failing Afghanistan War

Derrick Crowe | Posted 05.25.2011 | World

Read More: Insurgency, Rethink Afghanistan, Momentum, Civilian Casualties, Afghanistan, Brave New Foundation, Robert Greenwald, Derrick Crowe, Afghanistan War, World News

Given the failure of the escalation strategy to produce even marginally strategically significant success, it makes no sense whatsoever for President Obama to extend this failing war through 2014.

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U.S. To Tolerate Afghan Corruption In Latest War Strategy

Washington Post | Greg Jaffe | Posted 05.25.2011 | World

Read More: Corruption, Contractors, Afghanistan, Fbi, Obama, Taliban, Hamid Karzai, Afghan War, Fraud, Kandahar, Insurgency, Military Spending, United States, Graft, Construction, Dea, Robert Gates, World News

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN - U.S. commanders in southern Afghanistan are adopting a strategy that increasingly places the priority on fighting the Taliban ...

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$547 Million Can't Paper Over Failure of Afghanistan War

Derrick Crowe | Posted 05.25.2011 | World

Read More: Pentagon, Coin, Afghanistan War, David Gregory, Brave New Foundation, War in Afghanistan, Insurgency, Rethink Afghanistan, Department of Defense, Taliban, Petraeus, Insurgents, Afghanistan, Defense Department, Counterinsurgency, Afghanistan Progress, World News

No matter how much the Pentagon spins their message into the mainstream media, the facts on the ground show the U.S. lacks one of counterinsurgency's own premises for success: a legitimate host nation government.

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Petraeus' Oily Spin About Progress in Afghanistan

Derrick Crowe | Posted 05.25.2011 | World

Read More: Kandahar, Troops, Isaf, United Nations, David Gregory, Obama, Media, Cbs, Karzai, Robert Greenwald, Brave New Foundation, Nato, Army, Military, Rethink Afghanistan, Katie Couric, Insurgent, Operation Enduring Freedom, Navy, Oil Spots, Marines, Nbc, Helmand, Air Force, Afghanistan War, War in Afghanistan, Unama, Progress, Afghan NGO Safety Office, Petraeus, Taliban, Afghanistan, Insurgency, News, Anso, World News

There is virtually no data that shows strategically significant security "progress" in Afghanistan since the start of the latest escalation.

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Spike in Civilian Casualties Shows U.S. War Policy Is Failing Afghans and Americans

Derrick Crowe | Posted 05.25.2011 | World

The United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan reports that the number of civilians killed in the first six months of 2010 spiked by 25 percent compared to the same period last year.

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Invitees to President Obama's UT-Austin Speech: Get Out of Afghanistan, War's Failing, Set a Timetable

Derrick Crowe | Posted 05.25.2011 | World

Read More: Antiwar, Ut, Economics, Economy, War, University of Texas, Obama, Texas, Student, Scholarship, War Spending, Robert Greenwald, Democrats, Peace, George Lopez, Brave New Foundation, Anti-War, Politics, Insurgency, Education, Rethink Afghanistan, Barack, Rally, Gregory Gymnasium, Taliban, Austin, Afghanistan, Defense Spending, Kxan, World News

Today, President Obama came to my town to give an invite-only speech at the University of Texas. Lacking an invite, I wondered what people with invites had to say about the Afghanistan War.

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NATO Forces in Afghanistan Can't Deny They Killed Civilians in Sangin Anymore

Derrick Crowe | Posted 05.25.2011 | World

Read More: Civilian Deaths, Kabul, Coalition, Massacre, Farah, Isaf, Mahmoud Jan Kaka, National Bureau of Economic Research, Rocket, Helmand, Josef Blotz, Karzai, 2012, Brave New Foundation, Nato, 2010, Rethink Afghanistan, Civilian Casualties, Martyr, Abdul Barg, Gardez, Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, New York Times, Martyred, Abdul Zahar, Afghanistan, International Security Assistance Force, Sangin, Barack Obama, Soldier, Marines, Troop, Rigi, Insurgent, Javelin, Insurgency, Taliban, World News

Exclusive, on-the-ground interviews obtained by Brave New Foundation's Rethink Afghanistan project confirm what NATO forces repeatedly denied: U.S. an...

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Why Would the Pakistani Intelligence Agency Support the Taliban?

Azeem Ibrahim | Posted 05.25.2011 | World

Read More: Inter-Services Intelligence, Insurgency, Cia, Afghanistan, Pakistan Taliban, Pakistan, US Aid, Inter Services Intelligence Agency, Taliban, Wikileaks, Counterinsurgency, Afghanistan War, World News

One of the most disturbing aspects of the revelations contained in WikiLeaks is the picture it paints of the behavior of Pakistan.

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Busting White House Spin on WikiLeaks: No Leak Required

Derrick Crowe | Posted 05.25.2011 | World

Read More: Insurgency, Fail, Rethink Afghanistan, Afghan NGO Safety Office, Taliban, Obama, Afghanistan, Michael Flynn, Wikileaks, Counterinsurgency, Brave New Foundation, World News

We're supposed to believe that the WikiLeaks information is "proof" that the president was right to initiate a massive escalation. If I were the president, this would be the drop-dead last argument I'd be making

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Afghanistan: We're Here Because We're Here Because...

Doug Sarro | Posted 05.26.2011 | World

Read More: Karzai, Insurgency, Taliban, War Logs, Nato, Petraeus, Civilian Casualties, Pakistan, Mcchrystal, Marjah, Obama, Afghanistan, Wikileaks, Counterinsurgency, World News

Even if we achieved the goal we are apparently trying to achieve in Afghanistan--victory over the Taliban--it wouldn't put an end to international terrorism&mdash.; It likely wouldn't even put a dent in it.

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How Much Influence Does the U.S. Have in Afghanistan?

David Reidy | Posted 05.25.2011 | World

Read More: Coin, Insurgency, Washington Post, Governance, Marjah, Afghanistan, World News

COIN doctrine cannot be implemented according to any book, and the notion that there is a "right" way to do COIN which guarantees success is a fallacy.

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Afghanistan Rights Monitor Slams Washington Spin About "Progress" in Afghanistan

Derrick Crowe | Posted 05.25.2011 | World

Read More: Insurgency, Afghanistan Rights Monitor, Nato, Rethink Afghanistan, Arm, Isaf, Taliban, Insurgents, Obama, Afghanistan, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, International Security Assistance Force, Brave New Foundation, World News

If you can't protect the population generally, from the perspective of COIN doctrine, you lose. If you lack a legitimate host nation government as a partner, you lose. And guess what? According to that doctrine the United States is losing. Badly.

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Afghanistan Is A Catastrophe, But We Will Have To Wait For Post-War Inquiry To Admit It

The Guardian | Simon Jenkins | Posted 05.25.2011 | World

Read More: Uk, Britain, British Soldiers, Afghanistan, David Cameron, General David Richards, Helmand, Afghan War, Gordon Brown, Insurgency, Chilcot Inquiry, Nation Building, Iraq, General Petraeus, Casualties, World News

American congressmen tear their generals apart when fighting stupid wars. The British prefer to avoid embarrassment....

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