Latest posts by Joshua Foust
Afghanistan: Conflicted Response
Captain Cat is conflicted over the dispute within UNAMA: she thinks they do good work, but their acceptance of the fraudulent election is ruining their credibility.
Afghanistan: Reflecting on the Battle of Kamdesh
The large scale assault on a U.S. base in Nuristan over the weekend has caused many bloggers familiar with Afghanistan to reconsider how they feel about the conflict.
Afghanistan: Terror suspect arrested
Afghan PenLog rounds up most of the reporting on the arrest of Najibullah Zazi, indicted in New York on terrorism charges. Zazi supposedly trained in explosives in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Afghanistan: Riots in Ghazni
Free Range International reports that there is a fresh round of rioting in Ghazni, Afghanistan. There are rumors the rioters were protesting the abduction and murder of Shams al-Din, a popular anti-American cleric.
Afghanistan: Conversation with soldier
Captain's Cat, an aid worker in Gardez City, posts a conversation with a young American soldier, where he expresses exasperation at the way Afghan culture works, and admits he only joined the Army to pay for college.
Afghanistan: Animal House in Kabul
Tim Lynch, an American security contractor in Afghanistan, used to work with the now-fired security guards at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. He says: “The problem with the current guard force is that they are on a sh** contract. Ignore the money value published in the papers – that number...
Kyrgyzstan: Presidential Elections Are Over
Tolkun Umaraliev says the opposition candidates claim the election in Kyrgyzstan to be illegal. There is a confusion among media, both local and foreign, that candidates Nazaraliev and Atambaev have withdrawn their candidacies. However, both Nazaraliev and Atambaev have several times stated that according to the law on elections, they...
Afganistan: Is Iran Supporting the Taliban?
As Iran faces deep unrest over its disputed election, a perhaps darker question haunts the country: Is the Iranian government funding the Afghan Taliban?
Afghanistan: Political Machinations
While Afghanistan's so-called “rape law” has garnered a lot of Western press, there is a lot of domestic debate over it as well. The women's marches have been covered admirably by mainstream media, but there are sectarian issues to consider as well. Registan.net already highlighted some of those problems—namely, that...
Afghanistan: Chafing Under Talibanization
All is not smooth sailing in Afghanistan, and Azar Balkhi explains why: The Taliban insurgency is historically a predominantly Pashtun movement, still have very little influence among other Afghanistan minority ethnic groups like the Tajiks, Uzbek and Hazaras. It’s hard to keep others from one who believes that gun is...
Afghanistan: Meeting Sayed Pervez Kambakhsh
Nasim Fekrat, an independent Afghan journalist, met with imprisoned journalism student Sayed Pervez Kambakhsh in Pul-e Charkhi prison. He seemed disappointed and desperately waved at me. Only for a few seconds I got closer to him, closer to hear him, which was difficult because of the noise. Suddenly my left...
Afghanistan: A Slice of Life at FOB Kalagush
Not your typical embed: Andrew Klavan spent a few days with Forward Operating Base (FOB) Kalagush. It's quite well-written: despite the requisite Kipling shout outs (though they make much more sense here, this being the literal setting of a famous Kipling novel and actual biography), he explains well the challenges the U.S. faces.
Afghanistan: Mired in Combat
An interesting pair of stories in the New York Times illustrate brilliantly just how complex the problems facing the United States in Afghanistan and Pakistan really are. The first is CJ Chivers' look at an embattled outpost in Nuristan...
Afghanistan: Nuristan, in Pictures
We've had enough doom and gloom in Afghanistan for a while, yes? So here's a pretty picture of Aranas village in Waygal district of Nuristan.
Afghanistan: Sayed Pervez Kambakhsh's Sentence Commuted to 20 Years
At least it's not death: An Afghan appeals court overturned a death sentence Tuesday for a journalism student accused of blasphemy for asking questions in class about women's rights under Islam. But the judges still sentenced him to 20 years in prison. The case against 24-year-old Parwez Kambakhsh, whose brother...
Afghanistan: Peace, and Trash
Joshua Foust notes the goings on in the Afghanistan blogosphere: ruminations on trash, reconciliation, and, of course, the messy problems posed by the Taliban. That is, if you can define "Taliban."
Afghanistan: Seeking Justice
Despite its reputation for a very conservative brand of Islam, Afghanistan is deeply torn. Before the recent decades of war, the country was more known for its mystical Sufism that attracted crowds of hippies and tourists than anything else; the Soviet War helped entrench a more fundamentalist brand of Islam...
Afghanistan: Violence in the Hazarajat, Protests in Kabul
Afghanistan is one of those countries where minority issues drive nearly everything. They form the basis for why President Hamid Karzai is “the best game in town,” but also why he should resign. They form the fundamental structure of the national government, with ethnic set-asides (Kuchis get 10 seats in...
No Movement on Death Sentence for Afghan Internet User
Journalism student Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh, accused of supposedly copyng text from an Iranian website criticizing Islam's stance on the treatment of women and sentenced to death for heresy, was berated by his own judge at his most recent appeals hearing, according to Jean MacKenzie at IWPR.
Afghanistan: Warnings for the Future
Joshua Foust notes the number of Afghan bloggers warning the West about the country's future.
Afghanistan: Bombing in Kabul
There was a massive suicide bombing at the Indian Embassy in Kabul Monday, killing upwards of 40 people and injuring hundreds more. Many expats and locals are confused at why the crowds near the Indian embassy—which resides on a pleasant and well guarded street by most accounts filled with bookstores...
