Karzai reportedly involved in massive fraud favoring Ghani in Afghan presidential run-off
Stunning details of the massive fraud in the Afghan presidental run-off election have been published in the New York Times, in an article by veteran…
Read MoreHamid Karzai
Battle over electoral fraud in Afghanistan (updated July 7, 2014)
Obama’s six crises and collapsing foreign policy: Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, and China’s actions in the East and South China Seas
Afghanistan Presidential Election: Abdullah Calls for Halt to Vote-Counting Alleging Fraud by the Electoral Commission
Obama’s incompetence, America’s isolationism, and foreign policy consequences in the world out there
U.S. National Intelligence Estimate points to dire future in Afghanistan
The real problem with U.S. policy toward Afghanistan: Hamid Karzai and the CIA
Karzai moves to get U.S. to guarantee his hold on power after 2014 elections
Obama’s foreign policy incompetence, and what to do about it
Hamid Karzai’s Scurrilous Attacks on the U.S. in Afghanistan
Recent News and Opinion Alyssa J. Rubin, News Analysis: Karzai Bets on Vilifying U.S. to Shed His Image as a Lackey,” New York Times, March…
REPRISE: Reasoning from Conclusions in Afghanistan
See Jennifer Rowland, “NATO under-reporting green-on-blue violence,” Foreign Policy, May 1, 2012. Editorial, “The Enemy Within,” New York Times, August 20, 2012. REPRISE First published…
Syrian rebels reportedly commit war crimes; U.N. Security Council should refer crimes in Syria to the ICC—Obama’s Debacle in Syria — Update #71 (August 1)
Some units of the Free Syrian Army are reported today to have summarily executed opponents under their control, in Aleppo. This is a wrong turn…
Afghanistan–A Hint of Future Collapse? Hand-off to Afghan Forces, as Taliban Seize Control around Mazar-e-Sharif
A glimpse of how the Afghan government could collapse in the future, as the hand-off from American and other ISAF forces to the Afghan army…
Assassination of Syed Saleem Shahzad: Pakistan is the problem
Syed Saleem Shahzad, the Pakistan Bureau Chief for Asia Times Online, was assassinated in Pakistan at the time of or shortly after his disappearance on…
Update: Torture, The STL in Lebanon, and Obama’s “Way Forward” in Afghanistan
Today we introduce a new feature in The Trenchant Observer, an occasional column commenting on some of the more important events of the previous weeks…
Libya and “The Audacity to Act”
The Audacity to Act We are watching in Libya an authoritarian state use the weapons of modern warfare to put down protests which were peaceful,…
Obama’s Foreign Policy Quagmires and Successes
As 2011 begins, it is useful to consider where the U.S. and the world are in terms of developing and implementing foreign policies that address…
Corrupt-istan Update: Karzai’s Brazen Defiance
When someone like Karzai persistently directs lies and insults against you, while you are funding the very security that enables him to stay in power, you must either stand up and burst the bonds of a dependent and abusive relationship, or suffer the consequencdes of being a wimp.
In this case, the consequnces of being a wimp are likely to be the continued loss of American and Allied lives and treasure, to no avail, and eventually the collapse of the Afghan government.
The smartest person in the room, and the Afghanistan policy review
Continuing Reflections on “the Smartest Person in the Room” In a previous article, we offered some observations on the report that President Obama always considers…
“The Magician” draws eyes away from the ball in Afghanistan–again!
Once again, on the eve of a major meeting of U.S. and NATO foreign and defense ministers on October 14, the “Magician” in his green…