Afghans believe that the US is funding Taliban

It’s near-impossible to find anyone in Afghanistan who doesn’t believe the US are funding the Taliban: and it’s the highly educated Afghan professionals, those employed by ISAF, USAID, international media organizations – and even advising US diplomats – who seem the most convinced. One Afghan friend, who speaks flawless English and likes to quote Charles […]

The U.S. Information War and the Mythological City of Marja Afghanistan

For weeks, the U.S. public followed the biggest offensive of the Afghanistan War against Marja,  a “city of 80,000 people” as well as the logistical hub of the Taliban. It turns out, however, that the picture of Marja presented by military officials and obediently reported by major news media is one of the clearest and […]

400 US Military Bases in Afghanistan of 700 total

According to official sources, approximately 700 bases of every size dot the Afghan countryside. Colonel Wayne Shanks, a spokesman for the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), tells TomDispatch that there are, at present, nearly 400 U.S. and coalition bases in Afghanistan, including camps, forward operating bases, and combat outposts.  In addition, there are at […]