US-Afghan War
(see also Afghanistan & Afghanistan Post-War)
Basics
On the Web: Articles
Bound & Gagged. Charles Glass, Nation (1/23/03). Treatment of Afghan prisoners at Guantánamo Bay.
The Push for War. Anatol Lieven, London Review of Books (10/3/02). Brilliant critique of world view & militarist foreign policy of "think tank" intellectuals surrounding Bush administration.
Bush, Burqas and the Oppression of Afghan Women, Gary Leupp, Counterpunch (7/16/02). Ongoing US role in the subjugation of Afghan women.
Commander Sees At Least Another Year in Afghanistan, James Dao, NY Times (6/19/02).
Afghan
Victims Deserve U.S. Support, Medea Benjamin & Jason Mark, Nation
(5/3/02). US has often assisted victims of its military mistakes; & should
do so in Afghanistan
The
Real War on Terrorism. Mark Scheffler, Salon (4/23/02)/ Robert Young Pelton’s assessment of US war on Afghanistan.
No end in sight. Paul Rogers, OpenDemocracy
(3/20/02). Taliban resistance far from overcome; US faces long campaign.
The War in Afghanistan, Noam
Chomsky, (New Delhi lecture, 12/30/01). Analyzes policy decisions, human consequences
of war.
We can't
just forget about dead Afghan civilians, Robert Jensen & Rahul Mahajan,
Houston Chronicle (12/21/01). Ignoring civilian dead allows unquestioning support of U.S. actions.
Disaster that lives in this triumph. Natasha Walter, Independent (12/13/01). Americans love new kind of war: they drop bombs & foreigners do dirty work on ground.
3500 Civilians Killed
in Afghanistan by US Bombs. Marc Herrold (Econ prof at U. of New Hampshire)
Carefully compiled data bank on civilian casualties in war on Afghanistan: over
3500 as of 12/10/01.
My beating by
refugees is a symbol of the hatred and fury of this filthy war. Robert Fisk, Independent
(12/10/01). Recounts & attempts to explain his severe beating by Afghan
refugees near Pakistan border.
The Hungry Country, Roberta Cohen, NY Times (12/9/01). Quick success for US military doesn't translate into better life for civilians.
As
Refugees Suffer, Supplies Sit Unused Near Afghan Border. Carlotta
Gall with Elizabeth Becker, NY Times (12/6/01). Uzbekistan blocks delivery of supplies to Afghanistan due to security concerns;
U.S. refuses guards.
We
are the war criminals now. Robert Fisk, Independent (11/29/01). US & UK culpable in war crimes of Northern Alliance. Recalls Truman's courageous
stand for trials and against summary execution of Nazis.
Our Friends in
North are Just as Treacherous and Murderous. Robert Fisk, Independent (11/19/01). US & UK hope to use Northern Alliance & downplay their war
crimes; but Alliance has its own plans.
Northern Alliance Hires US Lobbyist. Frontier Post (11/18/01). How she rationalizes her job.
In
a Rancid Jail the Deposed Lords of Kabul Await Death. Chris Stephen, Observer (11/18/01). Circumstance of imprisoned Taliban soldiers; stonings of foreign
Taliban soldiers.
Three
days in Kabul, Chris Stephen, (11/17/01). Once Northern Alliance took Kabul
they looked more like oppressors than liberators.
Savage
Victory. Paul McGeough, Sydney Morning Herald (11/17/01). Details
war crimes of Northern Alliance, dangerous power vacuum after fall of Taliban.
Grisly scenes from freed Kabul (11/14/01). Graphic image of Taliban soldier caught & killed by Alliance.
What will the Northern Alliance do in our name now? Robert Fisk, Independent (11/14/01). US & UK can't control murderous Northern Alliance, now idealized in mass media.
Bad News in the Good News. William M. Arking, Wash Post (11/12/01). Questions long & short-term US military strategy, now shifted from destroying Taliban & al- Qaeda to "taking territory and remaking Afghanistan." This could undercut war on terrorism.
The
War's Dispensable People. Rina Amiri, Boston Globe (11/10/01). Humanitarian
effort must be as serious as war effort
UN fears 'disaster'
over strikes near huge dam, Richard Lloyd Parry, Independent
(11/8/01). Destruction of power plant increases civilian sufferings from US
airstrikes
A
Difficult War Ahmed Rashid (11/8/01). Specific UN actions to organize post-Taliban
government, & the difficulties they face.
The Coming Apocalypse in Central Asia. Geov Parrish (11/5/01). Millions of Afghan lives threatened by war-related disruptions. How to stop it?
Where The Bodies Are, Geov Parrish, Alternet (10/23/01). Who are we killing?
America's
pipe dream. George Monbiot, Guardian (10/22/01). War is always about industrial and commercial competition; this one is no different
Why
This War Will Not Work, Jason Burke, Observer (10/21/01). War against
Afghanistan will not end terrorism, only increase it
Afghans
Report Beginning of Backlash, Liz Sly, Chicago Tribune (10/21/01).
US airstrikes turning anti-Taliban Afghans against US.
10
Reasons to Stop Bombing Afghanistan, Don Hazen (10/19/01). US is creating
new terrorists; killing innocents.
Afghanistan & Pakistan at the Whim of a Self-Serving and Unreliable 'Friend'. Zafar
Bangash (10/16/01). History of Northern Alliance bodes ill for Afghan future.
Years of further turmoil likely.
Flight From Afghanistan, Sydney Morning Herald (10/12/01)/ Graphic: Refugee Movements From Afghanistan.
Into
Pakistan's Maelstrom, Tariq Ali, Guardian (10/10/01)
Consequences of the Anglo-American war in Afghanistan are likely to be incendiary
The Quality of Mercy: Food Drops in Minefields, Christopher Kremmer, Sydney Morning Herald, (10/10/01)/ Relief agencies criticize US food drops.
Into
the morass: there is no clear way to end this war, George Monbiot,Guardian
(10/9/01) US attempts to combine humanitarian aid with war completely ineffective/
Aid Agencies Reject
'Risky' US Air Drops, Jonathan Steele & Felicity Laurence, (10/8/01).
Relief agencies foresee problems in food drops; includes useful general statistics.
Missile Strikes, Drought, Disease, and Hunger, (10/8/01). Refugee crisis & effect of air strikes on relief efforts.
After Taliban, a Power Vacuum?, Peter Baker, Wash Post (10/7/01). Early warning from Northern Alliance: US has no plan for post-Taliban Afghanistan.
The
Oil Behind Bush and Son's Campaigns, Ranjit Devraj, Asia Times (10/6/01).
Oil company interests & war in Middle East & Southwest Asia.
Our
Afghan Warlords. Jonathan Steele, Guardian (10/6/01). Invasion of Afghanistan is a choosing of sides. Better to stop arming either
side.
New
Plan to Destroy Taliban: Diplomatic Moves to Unite Tribal Groupings, Patrick
Wintour, Ian Traynor & Ewan MacAskill, Guardian (10/6/01). Coalition
intends diplomatic pressure to topple Taliban & install broad-based democratic
government.
Cluster
Bombs in Afghanistan, Human Rights Watch News (10/01). Wide dispersal
pattern of cluster bombs means they can’t be targeted precisely & are
especially dangerous when used near civilian areas.
Some Things To Consider About Afghanistan Jason Vest, American Prospect (10/1/01).
The folly of quick action in Afghanistan, Ghani, Ashraf. (n.d.)
Taliban Should Be Overthrown by the Uprising of Afghan Nation, Revolutionary Association of Afghanistan Women (RAWA). (n.d.). Northern Alliance little if any better than Taliban from women's point of view.
A Political Solution Is Required Tariq Ali, Alternet (9/19/01).
Collective passion. Edward Said, Al-Ahram 552 (9/20/01). Media coverage of 9/11 & aftermath works to obliterate historical understanding & funnel collective emotions into pro-war frenzy, regardless of long term consequences.
War Against the Planet, Vijay Prashad, Counterpunch (9/15/01). Overview of US/British Iraq & Afghanistan policy that set stage for 9/11 attacks.
India & Iran Will "Facilitate" Planned US-Russia Hostilities Against Taliban. "Our Correspondent," IndiaReacts (6/26/01).
On the Web: Specialized Sites
Marc Herrold's Tabulation of Afghan Civilian Casualties.
In the Library: Articles
Anderson, Jon Lee. "A lion’s death," New Yorker (10/1/01):54. Assassination of Northern Alliance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud, just prior to 9/11 attacks.
__________. "The warlord. On the anti-Taliban front lines with Mamur Hassan, who has been at war for over twenty years," New Yorker (10/22/01):41-49.
__________. "In the court of the pretender. Who has the right to rule Afghanistan?" New Yorker (11/5/01):63-71.
__________. "The surrender. Double agents, disaffected Taliban, and a motley army battle for Kunduz," New Yorker (12/10/01):68-77.
__________. "After the revolution," New Yorker (1/28/02):62-69.
__________. "The assassins," New Yorker (6/10/02):72-81. Revisits murder of Ahmed Shah Massoud.
De Bellaigue, Christopher. "The lost city," New Yorker (1/21/02). Report from Herat under Northern Alliance.
Hersh, Seymour M. "Escape & evasion. What happened when the Special Forces landed in Afghanistan?" New Yorker (11/12/01):50-52.
__________. "The getaway: questions surround a secret Pakistani airlift," New Yorker (1/28/02):36-41.
Ireland, Doug. "This isn’t the end of it," In These Times (12/24/01):9-10.
Margolis, Eric S. "Russia checkmated its new best friend," LA Times (11/28/01). Russia, backer since 1990 of Northern Alliance, is real winner in US war on Afghanistan.
Massing, Michael. "Losing the peace? As Afghanistan struggles to recover, US prepares to move on," Nation (5/13/02):11-18.
Mishra, Pankaj. "The Afghan tragedy," NY Review of Books (1/17/02):43-50.
Pollitt, Katha. "After the Taliban," Nation (12/17/01):10.
Renner, Michael. "Lessons of Afghanistan. Understanding the conditions that give rise to terrorism," World Watch (3-4/02):36-38.
Silverstein, Ken. "The guns of Kabul,"Nation (12/31/01).
In the Library: Non-Fiction Books
Anderson, Jon Lee. The Lion's Grave: Dispatches from Afghanistan (NY: Atlantic Monthly, 2002).
Carney, Col. John T. Jr. & Benjamin F. Schemmer. No Room for Error: The Covert Operations of America's Special Tactics Units from Iran to Afghanistan (Novato CA: Presidio, 2003).
Gutman, Roy & David Rieff (eds.) Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know (NY, 1999).
Margolis, Eric S. War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir & Tibet (NY: Routledge, 2002).
Pelletière, Stephen. America's Oil Wars (Westport CT: Praeger, 2004). Real reason for war in Middle East is to put a lock on its future energy supplies.
Rall, Ted. To Afghanistan & Back: A Graphic Travelogue (NY: Nantier, Beall & Minoustchine, 2002).
Reddy, L.R. Inside Afghanistan: End of the Taliban Era? (New Delhi: APH, 2002).