On the ground in Afghanistan: How to overcome corruption and aid dependency
By: Devex
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On the ground in Afghanistan: How to overcome corruption and aid dependency - Video
Suicide car bomber kills 12 in Afghanistan
Subscribe: http://smarturl.it/reuterssubscribe May 1 - An explosives-laden car blows up in a usually peaceful region of Afghanistan, killing at least 12, officials say. Nathan Frandino reports....
By: Reuters
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Suicide car bomber kills 12 in Afghanistan - Video
Author: Max Boot, Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Studies April 29, 2014 Hoover Institution
Afghanistan long ago became known as the "graveyard of empires." But while it is undoubtedly a tough place to fight and a tough place to control, its reputation is vastly overblown. In fact the last two empires to try to dominate Afghanistanthe British and Sovietlargely succeeded in achieving their objectives even after pulling their troops out as long as they were willing to keep extending aid to Kabul.
The British encounter with Afghanistan is remembered primarily for the disaster of the First Afghan War (1839-1842) which culminated in a pell-mell retreat by Anglo-Indian troops and their camp followers from Kabul. Almost the entire force of 16,000 people, including 700 Europeans, was wiped out as a result of freezing winter temperatures and unrelenting attacks by hostile tribesmen. The British encountered further setbacks during the Second Afghan War (1878-1880), most notably defeat at the Battle of Maiwand in southern Afghanistan, when nearly 1,000 soldiers out of a force of 2,500 were wiped out.
Yet London managed to achieve its essential objective in Afghanistan: to keep control of Kabul's foreign policy and to keep Russian influence out. From 1880 to 1919 Afghanistan was a virtual protectorate of the British Empire, with the British supporting the rule of Abdur Rahman, "the Iron Emir," and his son Habibullah. Habibullah's assassination in 1919 brought to the throne his brother Amanullah, who launched the Third Afghan War to regain control of his country's foreign policy. He succeeded but only because the British were too war-weary to offer much resistance. In any case Russia, at that point in the throes of a civil war between Whites and Reds, appeared to pose little threat of trumping British influence in Afghanistan.
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Micah Zenko covers the U.S. national security debate.
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AFP Taliban suicide car bomb kills 13 in Afghanistan
Kabul (Afghanistan) (AFP) - A Taliban suicide car bomb killed at least 13 people, including six policemen, on Thursday in a normally peaceful region of eastern Afghanistan, officials said, nearly one month after elections.
"A suicide attacker detonated his vehicle-loaded explosive after being identified by security forces," Abdul Aziz Ghairat, police chief of Panjshir province, told AFP.
"Six police were killed, and seven civilians. A number of other civilians and security forces were also wounded."
The ministry of interior confirmed the incident at the highly-guarded checkpoint where vehicles enter the steep Panjshir valley.
"Around 5:00 pm, a suicide bomber in a Toyota Sedan vehicle detonated his explosives-loaded vehicle," it said in a statement. "As a result of this attack, six policemen were killed and a number of civilians were wounded."
The Taliban insurgents, who fight against the US-backed Kabul government, claimed responsibility for the attack via a recognised Twitter account, saying they had delivered a "heavy blow to the enemy".
Panjshir province, north of Kabul, was a bastion of anti-Taliban resistance during the extremists' 1996-2001 regime, and has been relatively stable since they were ousted.
The scenic valley in the Hindu Kush mountain range is also famous for its residents' dogged opposition to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
The province is dominated by the Tajik ethnic group, and voted strongly in favour of Abdullah Abdullah in the April 5 presidential election.
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Taliban suicide car bomb kills 13 in Afghanistan
New News - 5 NATO Troops Killed In Afghanistan Helicopter Crash - 26 April 2014
5 NATO Troops Killed In Afghanistan Helicopter Crash - 26 April 2014 Five Nato troops have been killed in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan, the Nat...
By: Hadden Gale
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New News - 5 NATO Troops Killed In Afghanistan Helicopter Crash - 26 April 2014 - Video