Afghanistan: Post 2014

... summary.

I Came; I Saw; I Died

"The insurgents were armed with heavy and light weapons," the spokesman for Paktika province told the BBC. "In retaliation, ANSF launched their own attack. After a fierce gun battle and air support from NATO, all of the insurgents were killed."

The Details

Afghanistan and Canucks: An Enigma

Relieved its over ... indeed ... who the hell wants to be reminded that there are actually Canucks who are willing to sacrifice their very lives for the betterment of those filthy Afghans ... it gets in the way of a perfectly self-indulgent life:

Indeed, Canadians seem overwhelmingly relieved that it is over, even though they barely showed any interest in the conflict when it was on. The apathy can be traced to the fact that Canadians were not asked to pay a price for the war, unless they were related to the roughly 160 Canadians, mainly soldiers, killed in the conflict, along with thousands of others who were injured, either physically or mentally.

The politicians also did a poor job at explaining the war to Canadians. It was barely raised during the last several elections and political leaders avoided the subject as much as possible.

Brain Dead and Embedded Up Their Own Ass

“This dodging, this subject-changing, this self-flattering proclamation of virtue,” says Glavin, “this is dementia, this is what happens before brain death, this is what happens before flat-lining . . . Spare me your pleadings, there’s nothing left wing about what you’re saying; there’s nothing progressive or anti-unilateral and pro-multilateral about telling the UN to go fuck off.”

Glavin says the subject matter he engages with in his book, and during the lecture, is not going to feel pleasant.

“This book is going to hurt, it’s going to sting,” he says. “A lot of people in this country, who set the parameters of the public debates . . . pundits, columnists, opinion makers and trend setters, who whine about reporters [that are] embedded with the military in Afghanistan, are themselves embedded up their own ass.”

and

“It’s about our culture as much as it’s about Afghan culture,” he says, “the country that we imagine doesn’t exist in the real world . . . where we mark the beginning of the war in Afghanistan — shortly after Sep 11, 2001 — the overwhelming majority of Afghans mark the beginning of peace.”

... keep reading.

Fritz is at War Again

After close to a decade of deployment in Afghanistan, German soldiers have seen something not experienced by their postwar predecessors: extensive combat. It has helped to create a more assertive army and changed the military in fundamental ways. It has also made the job more deadly.

... keep reading.