“In Afghanistan you are not rebuilding, you are building. There is very limited infrastructure and extreme terrain, with deserts in the south and mountains so high in some areas that helicopters don't even fly well at a certain altitude because the air becomes so thin. The country has a serious problem of illiteracy, especially after so many years of war and Taliban rule.” YearsWellsWarCountryProblemCertainAirBuildingSeriousMountainAreasSouthExtremesDesertAfghanistanInfrastructureTalibanRebuildingHelicoptersTerrainIlliteracy Author:David Petraeus
“Afghanistan has other enormous challenges as well, including a political system that is still very much developing, although there has been some progress in the past several years.” YearsWellsHas BeensStillsPastPoliticalChallengesProgressIncludingEnormousDevelopingAfghanistanPolitical Systems Author:David Petraeus
“There [in Afghanistan] is also a growing insurgency threat from al-Qaida, the Taliban and other extremist elements, some of which comes from the tribal areas of Pakistan, as well as from the Northwest Frontier province and Baluchistan.” WellsGrowingElementsAreasThreatAlsAfghanistanPakistanFrontiersExtremistProvincesTalibanInsurgency Author:David Petraeus
“US forces have been increased [in Afghanistan ] from some 21,000 to about 31,000 over the past two years and a number of coalition countries have also increased their forces, there still are not sufficient troops.” YearsHas BeensStillsTwoCountryPastForceNumbersSufficientTwo YearsAfghanistanTroopsOver The PastCoalitions Author:David Petraeus
“Let's remember that the reason we are there is that we have vital interests in Afghanistan, hugely important national interests, as do the other countries involved.” ImportantCountryReasonRememberInterestInvolvedAfghanistanOther CountriesNational Interests Author:David Petraeus
“I did a week-long assessment in 2005 at (then Defense Secretary Donald) Rumsfeld's request. Following our return, I told him that Afghanistan was going to be the longest campaign of what we then termed "the long war."” LongWarWeekReturnFollowingDefenseCampaignsAfghanistanSecretaryRequestAssessment Author:David Petraeus
“The task [in Afghanistan] is to reduce civilian casualties while still not hesitating to respond to enemies who are trying to kill our soldiers.” TryingStillsEnemyTasksSoldierAfghanistanCiviliansCasualtiesCivilian Casualties Author:David Petraeus
“The fact is that the American government and NATO have destroyed Iraq and Afghanistan. Their next targets will be Syria and Iran.” FactsGovernmentNextIraqDestroyedIranTargetAfghanistanSyriaNatoAmerican Government Author:Mairead Corrigan
“President Obama continues to support war. He continues to remove many basic civil liberties and human rights. He continues to condone drones in Pakistan and Afghanistan that kill women and children. He meets with his advisers every Tuesday morning and signs extrajudicial killings. To me, those are not the actions of a peace person.” HumansChildrenPersonsWarActionPresidentLibertyMorningSupportRightsKillingHuman RightsRemoveAfghanistanPresident ObamaPakistanCivil LibertiesTuesdayDronesAdviserTuesday Morning Author:Mairead Corrigan
“Australia is this former British colony at the foot of Asia. We've been involved - we've been in lockstep with America in every battle you have fought for a century. We were there in Vietnam. We were there in Korea. We were there in Iraq. We were there in Afghanistan. We are slightly apprehensive about the rise of China.” AmericaFeetCenturyInvolvedBattleIraqChinaBritishFormerAustraliaAfghanistanVietnamAsiaKoreaColonyRise Of China Author:Richard Glover
“Statistics tell us that of the 500,000 people who arrived, those who are granted political asylum are more or less 10 percent. I mean those who are fleeing from war, from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, parts of Nigeria. Welcoming them, in all of these cases, is our duty. For illegals, though, expulsion is needed.” PeopleMeanWarPoliticalCasesDutyNeededPercentIraqWelcomeGrantedStatisticsAfghanistanSyriaNigeriaAsylumsFleeingExpulsion Author:Matteo Salvini
“If you were disabled in Russia, you had to re-register every year, and it took up to six months to re-register, so people who lost limbs in Afghanistan had to prove that their leg hadn't grown back.” PeopleIfsYearsLostMonthsProveSixLegsRussiaAfghanistanSix MonthsLimbsDisabledRegister Author:Duncan Green
“[ General James Mattis] is a Marine's Marine who has served in combat in both Afghanistan and Iraq.” IraqCombatAfghanistanMarineGeneral James Mattis Author:Peter R. Mansoor
“There is Pakistan's relationship with Afghanistan which will also be a very tricky issue in the coming years. Then there is a large part of Pakistan which is being torn apart from American drone attacks. The country is being invaded constantly by a terrorist superpower. Again, this is not a small problem.” YearsCountryProblemIssuesTerroristAfghanistanTornPakistanTrickySuperpowerDronesTorn ApartSmall Problems Author:Noam Chomsky
“The dynamics of the Taliban now appear to be very different and complex, in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, as they attack governments and mainstream parties.” DifferentGovernmentPartyComplexesAfghanistanMainstreamPakistanTalibanDynamics Author:Noam Chomsky
“Travel from what is called Pakistan to Afghanistan has been made increasingly difficult and people are often labelled terrorists, even those who might be just visiting families.” PeopleHas BeensMadeMightDifficultTerroristAfghanistanPakistanVisiting Author:Noam Chomsky
“From a philosophical perspective, I want to fight off isolationism and protectionism, be it part of another voice out there that says, wait a minute, what matters to women in Afghanistan matters to America. An isolationist point of view says it doesn't matter. The articulation of "all life matters" helps frame the case that it does matter what happens to a woman in Afghanistan.” WantDoeMatterHelpingHappensAmericaFightingWaitingVoiceViewsCasesMinutesPerspectivePhilosophicalPoint Of ViewAfghanistanWhat MattersArticulationProtectionismIsolationism Author:George W. Bush
“Al-Qaeda has one ideology and they go back to the same leadership in Afghanistan or in Syria or in Iraq. That's the question. You have tens of thousands of foreigners, that's definitely correct. We are fighting them on the ground and we know this.” KnowsFightingIraqIdeologyAlsAfghanistanSyriaForeignersAl Qaeda Author:Bashar al-Assad
“According to what we've been seeing recently in the area where the terrorists control, where they ban people from going to schools, ban young men from shaving their beards, and women have to be covered from head to toe, and let's say in brief they live the Taliban style in Afghanistan, completely the same style.” PeopleMenSchoolYoungSeeingStyleAreasTerroristYoung ManCoveredAfghanistanToesBeardBansTalibanShaving Author:Bashar al-Assad
“There are very interesting books about these events, for instance one by a very well-known American historian named William R. Polk called Violent Politics. It's a record of what are basically guerrilla wars from the American Revolution right up through the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.” WellsBookWarInterestingKnownRecordsEventsRevolutionIraqViolentInstanceHistorianAfghanistanWell KnownVery InterestingAmerican RevolutionGuerrillasInteresting Book Author:Noam Chomsky
“We continue to stand united with Germany and our NATO allies in our ongoing efforts to build peace and stability in Afghanistan.” UnitedEffortGermanyAlliesStabilityAfghanistanOngoingNato Author:Barack Obama
“Turkey is using the Islamic State in the same way as Pakistan used the Taliban in Afghanistan. You know, that's perhaps Turkey's strategy.” KnowsWayStatesUsedStrategyIslamicAfghanistanPakistanTurkeysTalibanIslamic State Author:Vijay Prashad
“Some dozens of years ago, there was a debate conducted between people insisting that "this loaf of bread must be redistributed," and the others who said "instead of worrying about redistributing it, cutting differently, let's make it bigger." A third possibility was not imagined: that the loaf may be shrinking. But it is now a genuine possibility. It is even acting upon already, like in the case of the American invasion of Afghanistan and of Iraq in order to secure the supply of petrol for the Americans addicted to gas-guzzling cars.” PeopleYearsMaySaidOrderActingCasesWorryCuttingCarPossibilityYears AgoThirdsBiggerIraqDebateGenuineBreadSecureGasAfghanistanDozenInvasionShrinkingInsistingPetrol Author:Zygmunt Bauman
“The United States has been essentially engaged in an ongoing war that most people date from 2001. That war has taken us to Afghanistan, to Iraq, in a lesser way to other countries - Libya, Somalia, Yemen.” PeopleWayHas BeensWarCountryStatesUnitedUnited StatesTakenIraqEngagedAfghanistanOther CountriesOngoingLibyaSomaliaYemen Author:James Mattis
“[Chelsea] Manning leaked more than 700,000 classified files and videos to WikiLeaks about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and U.S. foreign policy.” WarPolicyIraqVideoAfghanistanForeign PolicyFilesChelseaWikileaks Author:Amy Goodman
“We have two other countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan - again it's the instability that is a problem there. So over the next several years, we expect to drive the number of [polio] cases back down to zero because that is likely to be the second disease after smallpox that we completely eradicate.” YearsTwoCountryProblemNextNumbersCasesDiseaseZeroAfghanistanOther CountriesPakistanInstabilityPolioSmallpox Author:Bill Gates
“Take the US. Women were not even able to vote until 90 ago, at about the same time they gained the right in Afghanistan. Rights of former slaves were very limited until the 1960s, and in some ways still are. In these and other domains there has been progress in democracy, though still seriously flawed. In other dimensions - the control of concentrated wealth over the political process, for example, things have gotten much worse in recent years. And there is much more, in both directions.” WayYearsHas BeensStillsAblePoliticalProcessWealthDemocracyRightsProgressExampleVoteSlaveFormerDimensionsAfghanistanDomainFlawed1960s Author:Noam Chomsky
“We know definitively that Al-Qaida isn't all over Afghanistan anymore. According to CIA estimates, there are less than a hundred Al-Qaida members in the entire country. Most of them are in Pakistan. So, it's hard for me to understand why we're still fighting there and sending in more and more troops. I would get out of Afghanistan as quickly as possible.” KnowsStillsCountryHardFightingMembersHundredAlsAfghanistanTroopsPakistanCia Author:Jimmy Carter
“Thousands of Americans have given their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq upholding their oaths and defending this nation. Chelsea Manning broke her oath and made it more likely that others would join the ranks of her fallen comrades. Her prison sentence may end in a few months' [time], but her dishonor will last forever.” MayMadeEndsLastsGivenNationsForeverMonthsPrisonIraqSentencesMade ItBrokeFallenAfghanistanOathComradeChelseaDishonor Author:John McCain
“Ironically, many of people, including Osama bin Laden and the mujahedeen, were, in fact, nourished by the United States in the early eighties in its efforts to drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan.” PeopleStatesFactsUnitedEffortUnited StatesIncludingAfghanistanEightyBin LadenOsama Bin Laden Author:Edward Said
“There has been sort of, if you will, a moral interventionism on the part of the United States trying to reshape countries in our own image. Now, we had to go into Afghanistan. We didn't have to go into Iraq. But the idea that you could create a Vermont in the Middle East like that was naive from the beginning.” IfsTryingHas BeensIdeasCountryStatesUnitedMoralUnited StatesMiddleIraqEastAfghanistanMiddle EastNaiveVermontInterventionism Author:Pat Buchanan
“There were between 46 and 52 drone strikes under the [George W.] Bush administration. And now there are over 400 - that's not counting Afghanistan. So this has been tremendously increased under the [Barack] Obama administration.” Has BeensStrikesAdministrationBarackAfghanistanCountingDrones Author:Medea Benjamin
“How about Burma, Somalia, Afghanistan, Libya, our streets, our neighborhoods, our own minds. We don't have to look far - and we should look far as well.” ShouldMindWellsLooksStreetsNeighborhoodAfghanistanLibyaBurmaSomalia Author:Joan Halifax
“The fact that there are no longer large units of Al Qaeda running around means you don't need B-52s. You need intelligence and special forces. And, most importantly, you need to resurrect Afghanistan from what is literally the graveyard of countries and transform it into a normal country, which the Afghans want.” WantNeedsMeanCountryFactsRunningForceSpecialNormalAlsAfghanistanUnitsAl QaedaGraveyardSpecial Forces Author:Ahmed Rashid
“The strategy for peace-building in Afghanistan is economic aid, reconstruction, international security forces. On those lines, the U.S. has been extremely slow. And it has even blocked expanding security forces from Kabul to other cities.” Has BeensForceLinesCitiesEconomicSecurityBuildingStrategyInternationalAidsAfghanistanNational SecurityExpandingReconstructionBlockedKabulSecurity ForcesPeace Building Author:Ahmed Rashid
“There's a sense of desperation in Afghanistan because of the lack of funding and the fact that the U.S. only has a one-track military strategy. It doesn't have an economic and political game plan.” FactsPoliticalGamesPlansEconomicMilitaryStrategyTrackAfghanistanDesperationFundingGame PlanMilitary StrategyPolitical Games Author:Ahmed Rashid
“You have a lot of suspicion from the neighbors of Afghanistan about U.S. intentions. Iran is already, to some extent, trying to undermine the U.S. in Afghanistan. Russia is now becoming increasingly nervous about a more permanent U.S. presence in Central Asia. And China is not keen that the U.S. should be so close to its borders over a long period of time. Certainly, if the U.S. is going to be there for a long time, it's going to exacerbate regional tensions.” IfsShouldTryingLongBecomingPeriodsLong TimeIntentionChinaNeighborRussiaNervousPermanentBordersTensionIranAfghanistanSuspicionAsiaLong Periods Of TimeCentral Asia Author:Ahmed Rashid
“The idea of a permanent U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, as opposed to an economic presence, is going to create a new wave of hostility toward the United States.” IdeasStatesUnitedUnited StatesEconomicMilitaryWavePermanentAfghanistanHostilityMilitary Presence Author:Ahmed Rashid
“The problem right now, which I've been pointing out very bluntly to American officials in Washington, is that the U.S. has no economic presence in Afghanistan. The Afghans can't point and say, "Oh, the Americans built that road. They built that telecommunications facility. They built that electricity powerhouse," because nothing has been built so far.” Has BeensProblemEconomicRight NowBuiltOfficialsAfghanistanElectricityPointingFacilityTelecommunications Author:Ahmed Rashid
“We should remember that the Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan. Of course, many of them did support the Taliban. But you cannot equate all Pashtuns with the Taliban.” ShouldRememberCoursesSupportGroupsAfghanistanTalibanEthnic GroupsPashtuns Author:Ahmed Rashid
“What everyone underestimated was the acute unpopularity of the Taliban, even in the Pashtun areas. People like myself were saying the Taliban would be driven out very swiftly from the north of Afghanistan, but given that their main support base was in the Pashtun belt, there would be greater resistance there. That didn't happen. The Taliban had become deeply unpopular and were actually discarded by the Pashtun population almost as quickly as they were in the north. I don't see the Taliban coming back in any way.” PeopleWayHappensWould BeGivenSupportGreaterAreasPopulationDrivenResistanceAfghanistanComing BackBeltsTalibanDiscardedUnderestimatedPashtuns Author:Ahmed Rashid
“Some Pakistanis fought for the Taliban. Pakistani extremist groups provided infrastructural support to Al Qaeda. There was a coming and going of Al Qaeda militants and leaders between Afghanistan and Pakistan for several years. All that has really happened is that Al Qaeda has escaped from Afghanistan come into Pakistan, got in touch with their contacts and friends in these extremist groups, which then provided them with safe houses, cars, and not just in the border areas but also in the cities. Rooting out Al Qaeda in Pakistan now is where the main battle is being fought.” YearsHouseCitiesLeaderSupportHappenedGroupsCarBattleSafeAreasContactBordersAlsAfghanistanPakistanExtremistAl QaedaTalibanExtremist Groups Author:Ahmed Rashid
“One of the challenges over the last decade is America has done experiments in nation building in places like Iraq and Afghanistan and we've neglected, for example, developing our own economy, our own energy sectors, our own education system. And it's very hard for us to project leadership around the world when we're not doing what we need to do.” WorldNeedsHardDoneLastsAmericaEnergyNationsChallengesEconomyExampleBuildingProjectsIraqDecadesExperimentsAround The WorldDevelopingAfghanistanNeglectedEducation SystemNation Building Author:Barack Obama
“A Pakistan that falls apart, becomes a failed state, would be of extraordinary danger to Afghanistan and to America.” StatesWould BeAmericaFallDangerExtraordinaryAfghanistanPakistanFalling Apart Author:Mitt Romney
“Beside the two wars he inherited in Iraq and Afghanistan, and promised to end, a financial crisis at home had pushed the United States to the brink of another Great Depression. When we spoke with the new president in March of 2009, the economy was losing 800,000 jobs a month, the government was throwing hundreds of billions of dollars at failing banks, and the auto industry was on the verge of collapse. Politically pummeled from all sides, Obama did his best to keep a sense of humor.” TwoWarEndsStatesHomeGovernmentJobsSidesPresidentUnitedUnited StatesEconomyFailingMonthsIndustryLosingCrisisDollarsFinancialIraqBillionsSpokesMarchSense Of HumorThrowingAfghanistanCollapseGreat DepressionVergeFinancial CrisisAuto Industry Author:Barack Obama
“The Israelis have taken a lot of security measures which reduce significantly the ability of Iran to inflict truly severe pain in Israel. But America is vulnerable with 100,000 troops in Iraq and more than half of that in Afghanistan, and we depend heavily on access to Middle Eastern oil. We're sitting targets for debilitating Iranian retaliation.” PainAmericaAbilityHalfTakenMiddleSecurityDependsSittingIraqIsraelOilAccessVulnerableIranTargetAfghanistanTroopsSevereEasternIranianRetaliationSecurity MeasuresTroops In IraqSevere Pain Author:Zbigniew Brzezinski
“I went out to cover the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan fundamentally [in Buzzing at the Sill] because I was interested in war as a notion and in experiencing it. I was interested in history and how societies form. I was interested in the recent history of what had provoked these wars. So when I finally got out there, I was really seeing the wars through the American perspective, much more than through being embedded with American soldiers and Marines.” WarFormSeeingPerspectiveNotionSoldierIraqAfghanistanMarineEmbeddedProvokedAmerican Soldier Author:Peter van Agtmael
“Who was it in Afghanistan who screwed up in Tora Bora and let bin Laden escape? It was the Bush Administration. Who leached all the resources, military and civil, from Afghanistan, creating the instability that we see there today in order to prepare for the misbegotten invasion of Iraq? It was the Bush administration. If there's a terrorist problem today, who is responsible now? Bush has not done the job.” IfsDoneProblemTodayJobsOrderMilitaryCreatingResourcesResponsibleIraqTerroristAdministrationAfghanistanInvasionBin LadenScrewed UpInstability Author:Sidney Blumenthal
“I think what happened with 9/11 is that people sort of felt that it came from nowhere. Whereas I think now we understand the roots are very deep. I say it's like revolutionary Communism, something that is going to have to be knocked out over a very long period of time. This strain of extremism continues to be very strong, whether it's in Afghanistan, or Somalia or Yemen, or any of these places.” PeopleThinkingLongStrongFeltHappenedPeriodsRootsCommunismRevolutionaryAfghanistanVery StrongStrainExtremismVery DeepLong Periods Of TimeSomaliaYemen Author:Tony Blair
“Obviously it is right that the Afghans take responsibility for their own future in the end, but they need to know and feel that we are there as partners for them if they are prepared to make the necessary changes. But we should be in no doubt as to why we are in Afghanistan. We ended up there because terrorism hatched there erupted thousands of miles away in New York on Sept. 11.” IfsKnowsNeedsFeelsShouldEndsResponsibilityDoubtNew YorkPreparedTerrorismPartnersMilesNo DoubtAfghanistanTaking ResponsibilityMiles AwaySept 11Necessary Change Author:Tony Blair