An Afghan boy works in a poppy field in Musa Qala, Helmand province, March 28, 2009. (Omar Sobhani/Reuters)
Afghans in Marjah have a drug trade to defend
As Americans prepare for an offensive on Marjah, in Helmand, locals worry about their livelihoods.
MARJAH, Afghanistan — It is the worst-kept secret in Afghanistan: The “major offensive” set to begin within days, if not hours, will be for Marjah, a district just 15 miles from Helmand’s provincial capital, Lashkar Gah. The military has been scattering leaflets in Marjah itself and broad hints everywhere else, seemingly hoping that the insurgents will follow recent...
Recent on Afghanistan:
Adventure travel: The Great Himalaya Trail?
Jason Overdorf - India - February 4, 2010 07:11 ET
Why walk Everest, K2, and other mountain giants? Because they are there.
Opinion: Fatal flaw to peace package in Afghanistan
Nushin Arbabzadah - Worldview - January 31, 2010 14:32 ET
The peace package that emerged from London Conference is doomed to fail, unless Kabul can get a monopoly on violence.
2 Afghanistan conferences: No solutions
Jean MacKenzie - Afghanistan - January 29, 2010 11:15 ET
Opinion: London and Prague meetings on Afghanistan do not produce new answers.
US, NATO want Dutch to stay in Afghanistan
Paul Ames - BeNeLux - January 28, 2010 07:17 ET
After deriding the Dutch mission to Afghanistan, the US now holds it up as an example.
Are Afghans really happy?
Jean MacKenzie - Afghanistan - January 24, 2010 11:34 ET
Western media talk of soaring optimism in Afghanistan. Afghans, when pressed, beg to differ.
Obama "magic" just another illusion
Jean MacKenzie - Worldview - January 20, 2010 07:26 ET
Analysis: To Afghans, the Obama administration has seemed uncertain, with promises sounding hollow.
How the US is attacking Taliban funding
Douglas Wissing - Afghanistan - January 20, 2010 07:14 ET
Official: Cracking down on Taliban funding is "like punching jello."
"It's a perfect war. Everybody makes money."
Douglas A. Wissing - Afghanistan - January 19, 2010 09:00 ET
How US military funds are ending up in the hands of the Taliban.
Taliban strike in central Kabul
Jean MacKenzie - Afghanistan - January 18, 2010 11:21 ET
Taliban gunmen and suicide bombers launched a brazen assault on the center of Kabul on Monday.
Opinion: Messages from Afghanistan
Marisa L. Porges - Worldview - January 18, 2010 07:07 ET
Without trust and understanding, counterinsurgency efforts are bound to fail — 30,000 more troops or not.
Good money after bad in Afghanistan?
Jean MacKenzie - Afghanistan - January 18, 2010 06:49 ET
Poppy planting is down, but graft is up. So why is the U.S. mimicking a British agriculture program in Helmand?
On patrol in enemy territory
Ben Gilbert - Afghanistan - December 27, 2009 12:33 ET
Afghanistan's wild wild west
Ben Gilbert - Afghanistan - December 27, 2009 11:18 ET
Welcome to the “Heart of Darkness,” where the militants rule and most Afghans are stuck between the Taliban and U.S. troops.
Analysis: Is Germany fighting a "war" in Afghanistan?
Cameron Abadi - Germany - December 21, 2009 08:49 ET
German Defense Minister zu Guttenberg may have gotten more than he bargained for by opening debate on Afghanistan.
On the road with "Dog Company"
Ben Gilbert - Afghanistan - December 17, 2009 06:34 ET
The Taliban may be increasingly elusive but cilantro is surprisingly easy to find, says one band of patrolling US troops.
Opinion: The Taliban is keeping time
Sam Kiley - Worldview - December 15, 2009 11:43 ET
With a thriving opium industry in Afghanistan, Obama's troop surge has no hope of success.
USAID: Understaffed and overwhelmed in Afghanistan
C.M. Sennott - Afghanistan - December 11, 2009 12:12 ET
Obama's troop surge fails to address how to improve delivery of aid.
Opinion: Obama defines the use of war in an age of terror
C.M. Sennott - Worldview - December 10, 2009 11:43 ET
Obama's Nobel acceptance speech was a self-effacing and deeply personal exploration of "just war."
Opinion: Where in the world is Osama bin Laden?
Michael Goldfarb - Worldview - December 9, 2009 06:48 ET
Do we even want to know? Is it possible that limbo is the easiest place for him to be?
Global Blogs:
It is time to listen to the Afghan people
Afghan LORD - Afghanistan - February 8, 2010 10:26 ET
A few hours before the start of the Afghanistan summit in London on January 28th five former senior members of the Taliban who occupied key positions in the Taliban government between 1996 and 2001, were removed from the UN blacklist. This move spurred widespread criticism...
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Reporter's Notebook
There is a brave new Afghanistan out there, where people love their government, are hopeful about the future, and are enthusiastic about the presence...Read more >
KABUL — You can take the girl out of Afghanistan, but Afghanistan will never release its grip on the girl. I realized this as I sat in those...Read more >
The news that an otherwise normal-seeming Afghan policeman killed five British soldiers and wounded six more in Helmand this past week was shocking....Read more >
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