Afghan Commentary Post

This story is based on real events, although the names and locations have been altered. He is survived by his wife and two children. The last time I heard of them, the family was living in Quetta, Pakistan 1972 With his domesticated blackbird named Marjan perched on his shoulder, Abdulaleem’s buttocks pushed deeply into a defeated pillow. His long legs extended in front of him, one resting on the lap of his wife, Zari. He fixed his gaze on her blue eyes, watching as she used a sewing needle to dig after a stubborn thorn that had lodged into his foot while he was working in the field. The pain of the needle poking under his skin was soothed by the indescribable sensation of her soft hands running over his rough skin. They lived in a three-room mud house that his badar ( landlord) provided him. Abdulaleem’s only luxury in life was a counterfeit Tabrizi carpet his son Aktar Gul had brought from Iran. A framed photo of Mecca hung on the wall. Abdulaleem was in his early ...

     

Afghan Commentary Post: U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan Isn’t Failure :   Despite growing frustration among Americans over the war in Afghanistan and widespread clamoring for an end to this protracted war, ...

  Despite growing frustration among Americans over the war in Afghanistan and widespread clamoring for an end to this protracted war, all is not lost in my native country.             To be clear, I joined those calling for the United States – now my adopted home country – to cease military actions. Many politicians and media pundits who disagree with President Donald Trump on almost every other issue have nonetheless supported his statement that “ Great n ations do not fight endless wars.” Among them was Robert Kaplan who wrote in a piece in The New York Times: “ The United States is spending beyond its means on a mission that might only be helping its strategic rivals ... indeed, it may soon be time for the United States to get out of the country altogether.” Critics cite allegations of waste, fraud and mismanagement of U.S. aid, in addition to the tragic loss of lives. But what almost everyone overlooks is ...