NewsTrust.net - Blog: Afghanistan: Top Stories

Our featured topic last week was Afghanistan. As the United States and its allies prepare to send thousands more troops to the country to combat Taliban and al Qaeda forces, we looked for the best journalism on what this escalation means for both the Afghan population and international relations in the region. We emerged with a great list of top rated stories, most from mainstream sources.

Prior to this News Hunt, we last featured Afghanistan in June 2008. A survey of our top rated stories from that week indicates that many of the challenges to stability in the country have lingered -- and some intensified -- in the months since.

One of our top stories from last year's Afghanistan News Hunt echoed in a story we reviewed last week. Both came from Aryn Baker and Loi Kolay, Time Magazine's Afghanistan correspondents, who have reported on the struggle to win the support of the Afghan populace. In 'Afghanistan: A war that's still not won,' (6/26/08) they wrote:

Success in counterinsurgency is about winning trust. And despite billions of dollars in foreign investment--the international community pledged an additional $20 billion at a donor conference in June -- the coalition forces in Afghanistan and its government have failed to win over the people they are trying to protect. This means Afghanistan's gains since the fall of the Taliban ... are fragile and are threatened by the insurgency, which continues to rage in the south.

Nearly a year later, in 'The U.S. in Afghanistan: The longest war,' the authors suggest the same problems still exist. Calling for "more boots on the ground," they made this assessment last week:

Al-Qaeda still thrives in the ungoverned tribal areas along the border between the two countries, and while many of its members have been killed, new recruits quickly take their place. U.S. soldiers have learned that to deny al-Qaeda a foothold in Afghanistan will require the establishment of a government that Afghans can believe in, the security that allows them to support it and jobs that provide an alternative to fighting.

Other top stories show that attempts to reform the Afghan police force have also stagnated since last summer. In June, the Los Angeles Times reported that despite U.S. efforts to bolster police and other local officials, many Afghan officers remained "little more than hired guns who raise money for local warlords through illegal taxes, shakedowns, and corruption. Many police and district officials sell weapons and opium. Some collude with the Taliban." An article from the New York Times last week, 'Corruption undercuts U.S. hope for Afghan police,' offered little more optimism. Covering President Barack Obama's plans to send 4,000 American trainers this spring, the newspaper reported:

a shortage of American trainers is only one factor hampering the Afghan police. If the experience of the American troops already training police officers in Ghazni Province is any indication, better policing may be impossible for Afghanistan unless government officials at all levels stop cannibalizing their civil administration and police force for a quick profit.

Last June also saw what were at the time new hostilities between Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, when Afghan President Hamid Karzai claimed the right to cross the Pakistani border to pursue foreign militants. Under the Obama Administration, U.S. foreign policy in the region has begun to center on the interconnectedness of the two countries, reflected several of this week's top stories.

An op-ed in the Financial Times put it bluntly: "For America, The problem is Pakistan." A professor of war studies at King's College argued that "the two countries are now hopelessly interlinked, with a Taliban insurgency rooted in the Pashtun populations of each raging on both sides of the border." He continued:

Unfortunately, it seems as if the new administration has not recognized two critical facts about Pakistan. The first is that the stabilization and development of this country is not merely an aspect of the war in Afghanistan, but a vital US interest in itself. Indeed, Pakistan in the long term is far more important than Afghanistan. The second is that changing Pakistani opinions will mean changing Pakistani society, and that is a project that will require massive, sustained and consistent aid over a generation.

An op-ed in Foreign Policy took a similar view. In what he called the "Afpak muddle," a Harvard University professor said, "Pakistan is the key here and our primary goal should be making sure that its nuclear arsenal remains under reliable control. The best way to do that is to try to prevent Pakistan from becoming a failed state." A Wall Street Journal profile quoted Richard Holbrooke, America's envoy to the region, expressing the same thoughts. "Pakistan is at the center of our strategic concerns," he told the newspaper. "If Afghanistan had the best government on earth, a drug-free culture and no corruption it would still be unstable if the situation in Pakistan remained as today."

Here is a sampling of last week's top news and opinion on Afghanistan, as reviewed on NewsTrust:

News

Corruption undercuts U.S. hope for Afghan police
New York Times
Afghan politician links corruption, Taliban rebound
National Public Radio
Holbrooke of South Asia
Wall Street Journal
The U.S. in Afghanistan: The longest war
Time
For Afghan Craftsmen, a welcome upswing after years of struggle
Washington Post

Opinion

For America, the problem is Pakistan
Financial Times
Top ten ways the U.S. is turning Afghanistan into Iraq
Informed Comment
Does the threat from al Qaeda justify a major escalation in Central Asia?
Foreign Policy
Talking to the Taliban
Atlantic Monthly
The Vietnam War lesson we must remember when Afghanistan votes
Los Angeles Times

Afghanistan: Top rated stories (full listing)
Afghanistan: Most recent stories (full listing)

This Week: Taxes
Our featured topic this week is Taxes. We're looking for quality journalism from all sides of the political spectrum about this timely topic. Many interest groups and political observers are debating President Obama's new tax plans. How will these new tax codes affect a country in recession? Should tax rates be higher or lower? How should our tax dollars be spent? Join our News Hunt on Taxes by reviewing (or submitting) stories on our Taxes topic page.