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The Liberation Paradox: Why So Many Who Flee Tyranny Carry it with Them

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    By Wahab Raofi Mass demonstrations in solidarity with Muslims have taken place across the United States and Europe in support of Gaza’s residents. People exercised their right to protest — and rightly so. But a troubling question follows. As Gerard Baker of The Wall Street Journal asks: “Where are the protests in the West for other persecuted Muslims? Where are the defenders of the downtrodden victims of brutally repressive states? Where are the crowds in New York, London, Sydney and Rome demanding justice and freedom for Muslims imprisoned, beaten or silenced in Iran, Afghanistan, China and elsewhere?” As one who was born into a Muslim family, I believe that many of us who left our homelands because of cultural, religious and political tyranny still carry within us a relic of what we were taught. In our subconscious there remains a reflex we struggle to unlearn: to excuse any wrongdoing committed by “our side,” and to condemn others even when they are right. We ...
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Could Venezuela Stumble into War Like Afghanistan?

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      Could Venezuela Stumble into War Like Afghanistan? Here Is Why That Outcome Is Not Very Probable   By Wahab Raofi Unlike the tribal and religious landscape that sustained decades of jihad against foreign occupiers in Afghanistan, Venezuela presents a markedly different social and political terrain — one that lacks the same mechanisms for mass religious mobilization against external intervention. During his campaign, Donald Trump embraced “No More Wars” as a slogan and pledged to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan , promising to end what he called the nation’s “forever war.” That was then. Following the seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Trump has once again startled allies and adversaries alike. Writing in The Wall Street Journal , Gerald Baker observes that Trump has never been adept at articulating a coherent strategic rationale, and that his idiosyncratic foreign policy style invites maximalist interpretati...
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Who Does Afghanistan Belong to? It's an Unsolved Problem

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  Who Does Afghanistan Belong To? It’s an Unsolved Struggle By Wahab Raofi   Forty-five years ago this Christmas Eve, Soviet tanks crossed into Afghanistan, launching a decade-long occupation and a cataclysm that would shape the country for generations. Since then, Afghanistan has been portrayed as a land condemned to perpetual bloodshed — a so-called “graveyard of empires,” trapped in endless conflict.   This belief in the country’s intractability has hardened not only a war-weary population, but also the minds of global leaders.   After two decades of Western military and political engagement, the verdict echoed that of the Soviet Union when it spent time and treasure on a war deemed unsolvable. American presidents have been unusually candid in expressing this view, with one dismissing Afghanistan one of “ Hellholes ” Yet this fatalism — born of repeated intervention and failure — rests on a profound misdiagnosis.   Afghanistan’s confli...
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To Solve Afghan–Pakistan Conflict, Kabul’s Regime Must Change

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To Solve Afghan–Pakistan Conflict, Kabul’s Regime Must Change The conflict between the Taliban and Pakistan will keep escalating if the Taliban remains in power. Only a democratically elected government in Kabul can lead to peace.   By Wahab Raofi The conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan is not new. The two neighbors have long viewed each other through a distorted lens, projecting historical fears and grievances that obscure reality. This has led to a damaging state of mutual suspicion, deepened by decades of each harboring the other's opponents. Pakistan's security establishment, seeking “strategic depth” against India, provided crucial sanctuary and support to the Afghan Taliban for years. This policy fostered deep resentment among many Afghans who blame Pakistan for the destruction of their state and society and view the Taliban's rise as a direct result of foreign interference. Now the tables have turned, with Afghanistan harboring Pakistan's milita...
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As an Afghan-born American Citizen, I Urge President Trump to Honor American Values

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  Innocent Afghans in the U.S. Shouldn’t Pay the Price for One Shooter By Wahab Raofi A double shock unfolded this week: one in Washington, D.C., when a man named Amanullah Lakanwal shot two National Guard service members — killing one and injuring the other — and another in the hearts and minds of thousands of Afghan evacuees across the United States who now fear collective punishment for crimes they did not commit. The misfortune has triggered a predictable but overly simplistic political reaction. President Donald Trump called for mass reinvestigations of Afghan refugees, using the attack to question their loyalty. “If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them,” he declared. The Trump campaign also announced a pause on processing immigration applications from Afghanistan, and Mr. TM   it would be a grave mistake to let one individual’s crime become an excuse for punishing an entire community. This heinous act must not be used to justify prejudice against Afg...
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From Mosque to Throne: Why Mullahs Keep Returning to Power in Afghanistan

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  From Mosque to Throne: Why Mullahs Keep Returning to Power in Afghanistan When political order collapses, religion remains the only organized force capable of restoring law and order.   The term “Taliban” is loaded, evoking images of religious zealots and Pashtun dominance. It is true that most Taliban leaders are Pashtuns from the south and east, Sunni Muslims from rural areas, who were further indoctrinated in Pakistani religious schools, or madrasas. Yet this contemporary image obscures a deeper historical reality: in Afghanistan, when political order collapses, religion has often been the only organized force capable of restoring law and stability. The Taliban, the seeker,  are not merely a militant group—they embody a recurring pattern in Afghan society. Historically, religious leaders have acted as a reserve force, stepping in to fill political vacuums during times of crisis and retreating to the mosque once stability returned. The Taliban’s rise—from mosque ...
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مشکل اصلی مداخله خارجی نیست، بلکه شکاف‌های حل‌نشده درونی افغانستان است.

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    یک روایت عام درافغان ها درموردجنگ های های داخلی ومشکلات سیاسی افغانستان مووج گردیده این اسمت که این خارجی هاوشبک های جاسوسی واستخبارت منطقه است که ما افغان ها را به باهم به جنگ انداخته. درغیران ما مردم صلح جو وبا اتفاق هستیم و هیچ وقت درتاریخ کشورخوبا هم نه جنکنیده بلکه همواره درصلح و فضای برادری و برابری زندگی کرده ایم. ولی من درین مورد نظرمتفاوت دارم: مشکل افغانستان توسط خارجه ها خلق نه شده بلکه معلول عوامل داخلی است که ریشه های ان دربطن جامه افغانی است که باعث سقوط مکر ر نظام ها میشود و هم باعث مداخله های خارجی ها میشود و تا زمانیکه به این "عوامل" راه جل جستجو نه شود مشکل اففانستان حل شدنی نیست. من به‌تازگی ازلیسه عالی حبیبه خارج شده ودر تدارک به امتحان  کانکور بودم که در صبحگاه ۱۷ جولای ۱۹۷۳ ، ساکنان کابل با صدای گلوله‌باران از خواب بیدار شدند ــ رویدادی غیرعادی در کشوری که نزدیک به چهار دهه تحت فرمانروایی شاه ظاهرشاه از آرامش نسبی برخوردار بود. ظاهرشاه، به‌عنوان پادشاه مشروطه‌خواه، ثبات سیاسی را حفظ کرده و روند تدریجی نوسازی را پیش می‌برد؛ او مشارکت محدو...
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