The Handover | GlobalPost

Afghan security forces go it alone

Ben BrodyApril 22, 2013 08:53

QALAT, Afghanistan — US troops who are in a position to respond to attacks on Afghan forces say their current posture is laissez faire — Black Hawks will not, for example, be delivering US troops into battle on behalf of Afghan forces. Under very limited circumstances Afghan units may request assistance from American attack or medevac helicopters, otherwise, the Afghan forces are on their own this summer.

Afghan security forces face first fighting season alone

Ben BrodyApril 22, 2013 06:01

QALAT, Afghanistan — US troops reduced to advisory role as Taliban begins its annual onslaught. Under very limited circumstances Afghan units may request assistance from American attack or medevac helicopters, otherwise, the Afghan forces are on their own this summer.

The risky craft of being an artist in Afghanistan

Chris SandsApril 13, 2013 06:01

KABUL — While much of society here has continued to suffer since the 2001 US-led invasion, artists have undoubtedly benefited from an era that has witnessed significant gains in freedom of expression. But with US and NATO forces set to withdraw, many artists now wonder if those freedoms are sustainable. Already things are taking a turn for worse.

Suicide attacks, once uncommon, on the rise in Afghanistan

Chris SandsMarch 30, 2013 06:00

KABUL, Afghanistan — While there are dozens of ways to be killed and injured by the war in Afghanistan, suicide bombings breed a unique kind of paranoia, fear and soul-searching that make them a hugely potent weapon. Unheard of during the mujahideen's struggle against the Soviet Union in the 1980s, they are routine today. There have been at least four such attacks in Kabul alone in the last three months. More attempts have been foiled.

How the Taliban wins over Afghans without firing a shot

Fazelminallah Qazizai and Chris SandsMarch 20, 2013 06:01

MAIDAN WARDAK, Afghanistan — A letter nailed to the doors and walls of mosques notified people in Maidan Wardak province of the Taliban's latest decree. When word spread, the insurgents had gained more supporters without firing a shot. The order addressed an issue that residents increasingly viewed as a threat to Afghan and Islamic culture: the rising cost of marriage.

Afghanistan: Should we stay or should we go?

Jean MacKenzieMarch 11, 2013 13:08

President Hamid Karzai certainly knows how to ruin a party. As newly anointed Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel made his maiden voyage to Kabul last week, the Afghan president all but accused the United States of being in cahoots with the Taliban.

Afghanistan's post-NATO era takes shape

Chris SandsFebruary 20, 2013 07:16

KABUL — The nightmare scenario of NATO leaving Afghanistan to face a new period of ethnic violence and civil conflict has already become a reality in the southern province of Uruzgan. There a militia commanded by a man named Abdul Hakim Shujaee is accused of deliberately destroying houses, raping women and murdering dozens of civilians. The government has ordered his arrest, but he remains free.

Full coverage: Afghanistan War

Chris SandsFebruary 15, 2013 12:24

KABUL, Afghanistan — As the US withdraws from Afghanistan, GlobalPost looks at whether the country is finally emerging from decades of war, or just moving into another phase of it.

Welcome to Kabul: Here are some brass knuckles

Chris SandsFebruary 6, 2013 07:22

KABUL — With the West focused on Afghanistan’s countryside and military withdrawal, parts of the capital are slipping into lawlessness.

Afghanistan: It's worse in the winter

Chris SandsJanuary 30, 2013 07:15

KABUL — Mohammad Baqir left northern Afghanistan a year ago, seeking work away from his local mining community. Today he sells coal next to a busy Kabul street that has turned to mud in the rain, ice and snow. Every winter the infrastructure of this rapidly expanding city struggles under the weight of the severe weather. There are regular power cuts, roofs collapse and children are at risk of dying from the cold.