Project

Afghanistan: Civilians Under Siege

In 2008, there were over 2,100 civilians casualties across Afghanistan. US airstrikes accounted for 552 deaths, up more than 70% compared to the year before. Militants were responsible for more than half the overall total. The bitter truth is that most of these incidents could be avoided. And yet they continue as public support for the Afghan government and its international supporters sinks to new lows.

Although some attention has accompanied the mounting casualties, media coverage has seldom explored the long-term effects of these traumas on Afghan communities: How have insurgents tried to exploit local grievances? Have more young men joined their ranks, looking for revenge? Have affected communities turned against the government, irrevocably? Or, when insurgents are responsible, shifted toward the government? A survey of major incidents that have taken place in the past year will lay the groundwork for a case study of a locality where innocent civilians have recently been killed. By returning to the scene in the following weeks to measure the fallout, this project aims to illustrate the cost when bystanders become war victims.

Losing Hearts and Minds and Lives in Afghanistan

Afghanistan is in an uproar following U.S. airstrikes that may have killed more than 100 civilians in the western part of the country. Reports from Farah province said that on Thursday a mob of several hundred protesters chanted anti-American slogans and threw rocks outside at provincial governor's office before being disbursed by police gunfire. In Kabul, outraged lawmakers called for new laws to clamp down on foreign military operations. Ahead of talks with President Obama in Washington, Afghan President Hamid Karzai bluntly said the deaths were "unjustifiable and unacceptable."

Why the Taliban Is Winning the Propaganda War

When Afghan President Hamid Karzai's office recently said it was holding peace talks with the Taliban, the Taliban countered with a press release. A spokesman for the militants dismissed Karzai's announcement as a propaganda ploy to suggest a schism within the Taliban's ranks. Not only was that not true, the press release that was subsequently sent to journalists announced the start of the Taliban's spring offensive, dubbed "Operation Victory." It was the latest exchange in a critical second front in the Afghan war — a war of words that U.S.