America and China talk about assisting the war-torn country but the reality is so very different. The result? A supposed need to bring in private companies to fix the mess:
Showing all posts tagged Afghanistan
Afghanistan remains a massively outsourced war
Most of the world media announced last week that America’s “surge” in Afghanistan was over. Not so fast. Here’s some numbers (via Mother Jones) that reveal the depth of Washington’s occupation in the country: Here a few more numbers to keep in mind as we approach the 2014 deadline for withdrawal of US combat forces:…
Just how many bases does America have in “liberated” Afghanistan?
That’s a question that seemingly nobody can answer. This is empire logic. Nick Turse investigates for TomDispatch: Afghanistan may turn out to be one of the great misbegotten “stimulus packages” of the modern era, a construction boom in the middle of nowhere with materials largely shipped in at enormous expense to no lasting purpose whatsoever.… …
“Justice” the American way
Remember this next time any US official talks about accountability in other nations (via the New York Times): Attorney General… Eric H. Holder Jr.… announced Thursday that no one would be prosecuted for the deaths of a prisoner in Afghanistan in 2002 and another in Iraq in 2003, eliminating the last possibility that any criminal charges will…
Breivik both sane and deeply connected to now mainstream Islamophobic discourse
Last year I wrote a chapter on the far right and Israel in an ebook, On Utoya, on the massacre in Norway committed by Andres Breivik. With the verdict now in, one of the book’s co-editors, Tad Tietze, has written a piece in the Guardian that provides the necessary political context: There are many reasons…
On tour: imagining “After Zionism” in Israel and Palestine
My following essay appears on the American website Mondoweiss today: The drive from East Jerusalem to Tel Aviv takes around one hour. It’s a stinking hot day and I’ve come from Ramallah in mid-August 2012. Despite flying into Ben Gurion airport in the morning I am stopped and initially refused entry by the Israeli border…
How neo-Nazis infiltrate the US military
More on a fascinating upcoming book by Matt Kennard called, Irregular Army: How the U.S. Military Recruited Neo-Nazis, Gang Members, and Criminals to Fight the War on Terror.
What everybody has done to Afghanistan (screw it up)
The legacy of 30 years of war in Afghanistan is profound. A recently released report of atrocities during the Soviet era highlights individuals currently in high positions of government. So much for accountability and thank you Western nations for ignoring such things when enabling these forces. And if you think the US-led occupation is coming…