Naming and Shaming in Afghanistan

Herat University

Men seek revenge for “dishonour" of hearing their wife’s name spoken in public.

By Nasima Hamdard - Afghanistan

Khaleda Mohammadi, a 23-year-old university student from Herat, was beaten by her husband and banned from going to classes for three weeks, just because one of her male classmates used her name in public.
The student, who has been married for two years, said she was coming out of class one day when a classmate approached her and said, “Khaleda, we don’t have a test tomorrow. It’s been postponed until next week.”

Drone attacks in Pakistan are the best of a bad set of options

The recent drone attack that reportedly killed Al-Qaeda leader Abu Hafs al-Shahri in Waziristan is the latest result of a Central Intelligence Agency campaign that began in 2004. Pakistan has protested against U.S. drone attacks, considering them a violation of its sovereignty.

Such protests have been ineffective. Strikes by the pilotless predators have increased since President Barack Obama took office in 2008. The United States considers them so effective that it is seeking a further expansion of drone operations in Pakistan, "The Washington Post" reported.

Afghanistan Feature: An Alternative View --- from Afghans --- of the Death of former President Rabbani

By Josh Shahryar EA World View

On Tuesday,  Burhanuddin Rabbani, the former President of Afghanistan, was killed by a suicide bomber in his residence. With Rabbani heading the council tasked with negotiating peace with the Taliban, his death is being portrayed as a tragedy for the country.

That is, it is being portrayed as a tragedy by foreign correspondents in Kabul and observers who may have only started paying attention to Afghanistan after 2001. The story,

The Afghan Who Wouldn't Fight

"Massoud sometimes used to stage sham skirmishes with the Russians to put off chances of suspicions about his activities among other Mujahideen groups" 

Bruce G. Richardson

In 1983, when Massoud stopped fighting, the Central Intelligence Agency came to the disturbing conclusion that he had cut a deal with the Soviets. What made this particularly worrisome was that it was not the first time.

In 1981 and again in 1982, Massoud had stopped fighting, in exchange for Soviet offers of food, money and guarantees that the Red Army would leave his villages alone. This is an argument routinely enlisted by Massoud supporters to justify his war record. To carry