Afghan Commentary Post

  The Taliban’s Illusion of Exception. On August 16, the Taliban mark their so-called “victory day” in Afghanistan. They present themselves as an exception to Afghan history, claiming permanence where others failed. Yet the history of this land tells a different story — one in which rulers, no matter how powerful, are ultimately forced to flee. Nearly two centuries ago, on August 3, 1839, Amir Dost Mohammad Khan abandoned Kabul and fled north toward Bukhara. His flight came after the British, fearing his growing ties with Russia, backed his rival Shah Shuja and marched him into Afghanistan with British forces. Kabul fell, and Dost Mohammad had no choice but to escape. His downfall was not only a matter of battlefield defeat but also the result of great-power politics and internal weakness — forces that have toppled Afghan rulers again and again. Shah Shuja himself did not escape this fate. On April 5, 1842, he was killed while trying to flee the country by supporters of Wazir Akb...

  By Wahab Raofi According to a new United Nations report, extremist groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan have intensified their use of religious imagery — especially the promise of paradise — to recruit fighters. For impoverished young men, this vision of eternal bliss can be more persuasive than any earthly reward.   What is paradise, and why are so many Muslims captivated by it? The first time I heard the word was from our village mullah. I grew up in Afghanistan, a conservative Muslim society where mullahs often described paradise as a place where rivers of honey and milk flow; where ḥūr and ghilmān — paradise maidens and youthful attendants — stand ready to fulfill every desire, and where wine runs freely alongside countless other pleasures. All this, they said, awaits the true Muslim who obeys Allah’s will. Whoa! Doesn’t it boil your blood — especially when you’re young and the sexes are kept apart behind veils and walls? Isn’t the urge even stronger when you ...

  A shorter version of this piece appeared in The Washington Post. This is the full version.     By Wahab Raofi I am a registered Republican. And like many others, I didn’t vote for Donald Trump. His tone and rhetoric alarmed me. He said things that sounded extreme — like letting Europe defend itself, raising tariffs, or threatening to deport immigrants en masse. I feared the worst. But in hindsight, much of what Trump actually did — particularly in his foreign policy — has turned out to be effective. As Bret Stephens of The New York Times wrote, Trump may go down as a “surprisingly successful president.” He achieved what others only talked about. NATO’s European members and Canada began spending more on defense — something past U.S. presidents asked for, but too politely. Rather than dismantling the transatlantic alliance, as his critics feared, Trump arguably reinvigorated it. Realizing my mistake set me to thinking. Much of my adult life has been consumed...

  Afghanistan’s Unhappiness and the Path Forward In a recent Gallup survey covering 142 countries, respondents were asked whether they felt they were thriving, struggling, or suffering. Globally, the share of people who say they are thriving has risen steadily over the past decade, while the percentage who say they are suffering has dropped to just 7%—the lowest level since 2007. This trend spans continents, with notable gains in countries as diverse as Kosovo, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, and Paraguay. Afghanistan is the heartbreaking exception. According to the 2024 World Happiness Report , Afghans remain the most unhappy people on Earth—a position they have held for several years. This is hardly surprising. For decades, Afghanistan has been at war—if not with foreign occupiers, then with itself. The consequences have taken a deep toll on the nation’s collective psyche, leaving trauma, mistrust, and despair in their wake. Since the Taliban’s return to power four years ago, the suff...

Published by the Washington Post I am a registered Republican. And like many others, I didn’t vote for Donald Trump. His tone and rhetoric alarmed me. But in hindsight, much of what Trump actually did, particularly in his foreign policy, turned out to be effective. Realizing my mistake set me thinking about a question I’ve pondered my whole life: What does it mean to be smart? My definition of intelligence has evolved with my age. In high school and college, I thought it meant getting good grades. Later it became about making money. Now in my seventies, I question all those ideas. I’ve come to believe that intelligence is not about credentials or conventional success. Writing articles and reading expert opinions doesn’t automatically make you wise. Book knowledge is valuable, but it's not the whole picture. There’s another kind of intelligence: intuitive, instinctive, often unspoken. Trump calls it his “gut.” Growing up, I was fascinated by how village elders would re...