Khalil Nouri

Afghanistan: U.S. Departing Without Foreseeable Success

The momentous encroachment in Afghanistan last Tuesday was not President Obama’s speech but the accord for ongoing co-operation between the United States and the Karzai government. In a briefing on the terms of the deal, the...

Afghanistan: Is Karzai Peace Plan a No-Go?

The wave of coordinated attacks unleashed by the Taliban militants in Afghanistan on Sunday targeting Parliament and eastern cities gives a grim realization that Western backed Afghan President Mr. Karzai’s staked peace deal efforts with the Taliban aren...

Afghanistan: De-Pashtunization of Pashtuns by Taliban and Pakistan

For more than a thousand years the Afghan nation, and Pashtun tribes in particular, have resisted all foreign efforts of domination. Efforts by great empires have failed to suppress rich Pashtun culture and traditions, created during ancient Silk Road trading...

Afghanistan: Taliban vs. Zal Khalilzad

“Khalilzad: A Satan whispering in the Hearts of Men”, was titled in an email sent to many recipients by two Piled higher and Deeper (PhDs) expressing their views about Mr. Zal Khalilzad who apparently was in his 2014...

Afghanistan: A Non-Kosher U.S. Taliban Deal

Taliban and “peace mission” – these words do not fit together in the minds of Afghans who know the Taliban’s history. But they are the words that we have seen in recent publications, stating that...

Afghanistan: Who Can Lead Kandahar?

Kandahar, a conservative and sacred Pashtun heartland, the epicenter of complex Afghan tribalpolitics where Prophet Muhammad's cloak has resided for over half a millennium, has always played a pivotal role in Afghanistan with all its political...

A Paradigm Shift on the Chessboard of the Afghan “Great-Game”

Ever since Pakistan began lobbying against Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai's efforts to build a long-term strategic partnership with the U.S.,urging him to look to Pakistan instead -- and its Chinese ally -- for help in striking...

David Miliband’s Afghan Endgame Slightly off Mark

It is typical to scoff at David Miliband’s position for his post-political career. But in a recent New York Times article the former U.K Foreign Secretary showed that his intellect and judgment on a number of...

Afghanistan: The "Great Game" of Deceit

The Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, at the beginning of the 20th century aptly described Afghanistan as “a piece on the chessboard on which is being played out the game for domination of the world.” At that time...

A Viable Solution for the Afghan Problem

The success of scientific methodology is due primarily to its objectivity. In politics, unfortunately, there is little objectivity and a lot of emotion that makes visibility of reality on-the-ground very difficult. The unprecedented terrorist act of 9...

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