Afghan Commentary Post

    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 ...

      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...