In the months after the United States-backed government of Afghanistan first fell to the Taliban, international condemnation of the regime and support for Afghan refugees were swift and widespread. But now, the shifting tides of international immigration policy have definitively turned against Afghan refugees. As Iran, Pakistan, and the United States all begin to either […]
Tag: Afghanistan
Pakistan Moves Forward with Mass Deportation of Afghan Migrants
Over 450,000 migrants have fled Pakistan for Afghanistan amid a worsening rift between the two governments. This wave of migration comes after the passing of the Pakistani government’s November 1st deadline for undocumented migrants to leave the country or face deportation. Pakistan’s policy has sparked significant humanitarian concerns, as well as an increase in tensions […]
Rise in Terrorist Attacks Sparks Tensions on the Afghanistan-Pakistan Border
A recent bombing of a Peshawar mosque by a faction of the Pakistani Taliban or Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has prompted fears that Pakistan’s terrorism problem is growing. The attack killed over 100 people, many of them police officers. The TTP initially claimed responsibility, although TTP leadership later denied involvement and blamed a breakaway faction. January […]
China Picks Up Where the West Has Failed
Nobody said democracy was easy, but the concept of a liberal democracy championed by the US and democratic European nations has taken a massive blow in the last year with its two biggest projects. Afghanistan and Myanmar are known as major sources of opium, and now also as failed Western experiments to try and bring […]
A Simple TikTok Trend? Or Blatant Jingoism?
On August 30th, 2021, after 20 years of military occupation, the Pentagon announced the completion of withdrawal of US forces in Afghanistan. Marine Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie stated, “The last C-17 lifted off from Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 30th, this afternoon….” Weeks prior to the withdrawal, Taliban forces had swiftly regained control of […]
The First One Hundred Days of the Taliban Administration
The United States completed its official mission to remove troops from Afghanistan in August. Before the final plane departed the Taliban had already reclaimed Kabul, and with it the governance of the country. In 100 days since the administration took office, there has been little opportunity for quiet thought or reflection, to examine in one […]
Is the End in Sight? Seeking an Exit from Afghanistan
U.S. Marines departing from Helmand province from Camp Bastion, October 27, 2014. – Image released by the US Marine Corps, Wikimedia Commons. “We will not waver. We will not tire. We will not falter. And we will not fail. Peace and freedom will prevail.” – Former President George W. Bush announcing the beginning of the […]
Afghan War: the Never Ending Struggle
The US war in Afghanistan is now entering its sixteenth year. Countless lives and tax dollars have been spent fighting it. Yet, despite administrative changes at the federal level and fresh vows to bring an end to the war, the US is still embroiled in a painfully long struggle with no exit strategy in sight. […]
The Reformation Conundrum
Why Ayaan Hirsi Ali is wrong. Islam does not need a reformation. The rise of ISIS has created a number of question about the nature of Islam, ranging from the state of the religion today to fundamental theological questions that arise from the justification given by individuals or groups who use the religion of Islam to […]
AUMF 2015 and the War on ISIL
There is a common refrain in American politics when politicians discuss taking military action in foreign countries. “[insert country of interest here] is going to be another Afghanistan… another Iraq… another Vietnam.” In Vietnam, what began with light air support and humanitarian aid lead to deployment of “advisors,” who invariably were involved in firefights, escalating […]