KABUL, Afghanistan (March 27, 2018) – On March 22, the Afghan Air Force tasked the A-29 squadron to destroy a Taliban compound in Farah. The Afghan attack pilots were equipped with both guided and unguided bombs, and elected to employ the GBU-58 laser-guided bomb to avoid collateral damage. The drop…
2012-10-23 by Richard Weitz One way Uzbekistan is responding to the new Central Asian environment is by moving closer to Kazakhstan. The two countries are the two most influential of the “stans,” having the largest land mass and population in Central Asia. Uzbekistan is also Kazakhstan’s major trading partner within Central…
2012-09-24 by Ed Timperlake It was a warm early Fall evening at Dover AFC as a C-17, Globemaster III, landed carrying four American sons. Two Army and two Marines, united in death having given everything they had to support and defend our Constitution. All four were lost in Operation Enduring…
09/19/2012: The Taliban killed the CO of VMA-211 in Afghanistan as well as having destroyed 6 Harriers. The Lt. Col. Was a former MAWTS instructor as well. As Ed Timperlake underscored: The Afghan Attack was the worst day for VMA-211 since Wake Island-- From VMA-211 Squadron History: "In November 1941,…
[caption id="attachment_12920" align="alignleft" width="150" caption=" "][/caption] By Dr. Richard Weitz 01/20/2012 There is widespread international support for reintegrating lower-level Taliban foot soldiers who may have joined the insurgency for money or other non-ideological reasons. Inducing many of these “accidental guerrillas” to leave the insurgency is a reasonable goal since neither…
By Dr. Richard Weitz 01/16/2011 - Limited international backing contributed to the failure of the past Afghan-led reintegration and reconciliation initiatives. Until recently, these processes encountered strong opposition in many Western countries. Meanwhile, reconciliation confronted the issue of previous Taliban misrule and the organization’s ties to the al-Qaeda perpetrators of…
01/15/2011 - by Richard Weitz Editor's Note: In the first of four parts, Richard Weitz looks at the prospects and challenges for an Afghan peace process in 2012 and the reality of the 2014 target goal of withdrawal. If it is not real now, what will 2014 magic bring that…
By Dr. Richard Weitz The issue of promoting an enduring reconciliation between the Afghan government and influential members of the Taliban is the most controversial element of the peace process. The intent is to exploit the fact that the Taliban leadership is not a cohesive group. Some Taliban leaders might…
