Afghanistan
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‘We Don’t Need a Smoking Gun’: U.S. Provocations and the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
For Fellow Travelers, I review the latest historiography on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. It argues—successfully, in my view—that, contrary to popular criticism, Jimmy Carter and Zbigniew Brzezinski did not seek to “trap” the Soviets in an “Afghan quagmire.” But, crucially, this does not absolve Washington of responsibility for the violence unleashed in Afghanistan over…
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The ‘Good War’ in Afghanistan Was Never Good
As America’s longest war inches closer to an end as a result of Donald Trump’s deal with the Taliban, commentators are furnishing autopsies of how the so-called “good war” in Afghanistan hasn’t lived up to its moniker after nearly two decades of stalemate. In Jacobin, I lay out a simple point: the “good war” was…
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Media Rally Around ‘Forever War’ in Afghanistan
U.S. negotiations with the Taliban have been gaining steam. Media and the foreign policy establishment are very worried about this. For FAIR, I argue that they shouldn’t be.
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Steve Coll on the killing of Osama bin Laden
New reporting by Steve Coll offers few new details on the bin Laden raid and only partially corroborates Sy Hersh’s account.
Gunar Olsen 