Search results for ‘pakistani taliban’
177 items found
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South Waziristan – the world's most dangerous place
Pakistan’s anti-Taliban offensive in South Waziristan contradicts the widely held view in Islamabad that sooner or later Nato’s coalition in Afghanistan will have to talk to the Taliban, blogs Julian Rush.
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Extra troops for Afghanistan completely misses the point
So, come the small hours this side of the Atlantic, President Obama will address the American nation and confirm his intention to more fully pursue The Bush Doctrine which began in Iraq, through Afghanistan. Bush surged into Baghdad; Obama will surge into Kabul. Meanwhile here Gordon Brown has pre-surged, carefully timing his 500 reinforcements yesterday,…
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America's options in Afghanistan are shrinking
Channel 4 News reporter Lindsey Hilsum examines the shrinking number of options available to the US in Afghanistan.
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Watching the war from Nuristan’s idyllic valleys
We asked if they have a nickname for it: COP Keating, an American outpost trapped in the middle of a hostile valley in Nuristan province. They didn’t, they replied – didn’t need to. The word Keating (the surname of a first lieutenant who died near here) told them what it was about. Then Captain Porter…
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COP Keating: Afghan war’s terrifying reality
Channel 4 News exposed the ‘crucible of conflict’ at US Combat Outpost Keating in Afghanistan – one of the most dangerous bases for US forces. Just weeks later it was closed.
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Stories behind the numbers
I blame journalists. If we didn’t demand numbers, governments wouldn’t have to make them up. How many people have been displaced by the fighting in Pakistan? According to the government, 2,882,642.
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Swat: why we should care about this faraway war
In quieter times, Taj Mahmad pulls a cart loaded with vegetables for a living. But today’s Washington Post quotes him as saying that he fled government shelling so quickly that he and his wife were forced to leave their son and three-year-old daughter behind. “My wife cried and said the rest of us would be…
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Obama's reputation depends on his Af-Pak policy
It is hard to say which meeting is more important: Obama’s meeting with the president of Afghanistan or with the president of Pakistan. For it is becoming increasingly clear that Obama’s foreign policy reputation – indeed his presidency – will depend upon success in what US officials call the “Af-Pak” region, in much the same…
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Brown's ambitious Af-Pak promise
Gordon Brown has announced a mini-surge of British troops in Afghanistan to help police the August presidential election there. He’s also promised a big increase in aid to Pakistan, with half of the money going to the Afghan frontier region, which Mr Brown has branded “the crucible of global terrorism”. His 15-page strategy document (UK…
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Lahore attack raises worrying questions
Today’s attack on a police training school in Lahore could be part of a worrying trend. This was not suicide bombing, but a commando-style raid, as per the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team which left seven dead in the same city earlier this month, and the attacks on the hotels in Mumbai, India last…
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Holbrooke on Afghanistan and Pakistan
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – This week the Americans will announce their new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Attending a conference organised by the German Marshall Fund in Brussels, I’ve had a sneak preview at a session where President Obama’s envoy, Richard Holbrooke, spoke. He was scathing about the last US administration, describing the decision to switch focus…
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Pakistan-style attacks 'could happen in Europe'
I’ve just had a very insightful chat with Ahmed Rashid, doyen of the Lahore journalism set, the best-selling Taliban-Qaida watcher and described by Christopher Hitchens as “Pakistan’s best and bravest reporter”. His latest book, Descent into Chaos, documents Pakistan’s apocalyptic downward spiral. So what did he make of what went on in the upmarket Gulberg…
