· September, 2009

Stories about Afghanistan from September, 2009

Afghanistan: Terror suspect arrested

  29 September 2009

Afghan PenLog rounds up most of the reporting on the arrest of Najibullah Zazi, indicted in New York on terrorism charges. Zazi supposedly trained in explosives in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Afghanistan: Captain Semrau Goes to Trial

  21 September 2009

Joshua Foust reports that Captain Robert Semrau, a Canadian military man facing murder charges for the alleged shooting death of an injured, unarmed insurgent outside Lashkar Gah, is now facing a general court martial.

Afghanistan: Mullah Omar's New Statement

  21 September 2009

Nick Fielding analyzes the political statement of Mullah Mohammad Omar, leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, for the Afghans, particularly those who are loyal towards the Karzai regime.

Afghanistan: Riots in Ghazni

  11 September 2009

Free Range International reports that there is a fresh round of rioting in Ghazni, Afghanistan. There are rumors the rioters were protesting the abduction and murder of Shams al-Din, a popular anti-American cleric.

Afghanistan: Conversation with soldier

  8 September 2009

Captain's Cat, an aid worker in Gardez City, posts a conversation with a young American soldier, where he expresses exasperation at the way Afghan culture works, and admits he only joined the Army to pay for college.

Afghanistan: Animal House in Kabul

  8 September 2009

Tim Lynch, an American security contractor in Afghanistan, used to work with the now-fired security guards at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. He says: “The problem with the current guard force is that they are on a sh** contract. Ignore the money value published in the papers – that number...

Afghanistan: Mystery of the missing opium crop

  8 September 2009

Nick Fielding tries to understand why and how, according to the Afghan Opium Survey from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime report, the bottom is starting to fall out of the Afghan opium market with opium cultivation down 22%, production down by 10% and prices at a ten-year low.

Afghanistan: New Strategy Needed

  1 September 2009

Joshua Foust reflects on the statement made by the U.S. military official that there needs to be some fundamentally new thinking in Afghanistan, rather than new troops.