Afghanistan

Members of Mirman Baheer, a nationwide women’s literary society meet in an office in Kabul, the capital. Mirman Baheer meets in a different secret location each week.

How Poetry Societies Are Giving Women in Afghanistan a Voice During Coronavirus Lockdown

On a frosty February morning in Kabul, Lima Aafshid’s face glows in the pal...

On a frosty February morning in Kabul, Lima Aafshid’s face glows in the pale blue light of her smartphone. She is reciting the words of 13th century Afghan poet Jalaluddin Rumi. Speaking in Dari, her...

Nurses with newborns at Ataturk hospital in Kabul on May 13, 2020. These newborns were rescued during an attack on a maternity clinic a day earlier.

‘They Came to Kill the Mothers.’ After a Devastating Attack on a Kabul Maternity Ward, Afghan Women Face Increased Dangers

Published in partnership with The Fuller Project, a non-profit newsroom tha...

Published in partnership with The Fuller Project, a non-profit newsroom that reports on issues impacting women. When Fawzia Rawof heard gunfire and screams, she knew there were only three options: run, hide—or die. The doctor...

A U.S. Army helicopter flies outside of Camp Shorab in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on September 11, 2017.

'I Didn’t Think We’d Get Out Like That.' Veterans Have Mixed Feelings as U.S. Withdraws Troops From Afghanistan

Most veterans of the 18-year war in Afghanistan wouldn't have predicted thi...

Most veterans of the 18-year war in Afghanistan wouldn't have predicted this was how the fightback after the attacks of 9/11 would end: with the U.S. President calling the conflict a waste of American blood...

US President Donald Trump (L) and Vice President Mike Pence (C) observe the dignified transfer of two US soldiers killed in Afghanistan, at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on Feb. 10, 2020.

President Trump's Disgraceful Peace Deal with the Taliban

There is a difference between peace and retreat. The Trump administration’s...

There is a difference between peace and retreat. The Trump administration’s agreement with the Taliban represents a full retreat. It’s an agreement that most Republicans would deplore if a Democrat president made the deal, and...

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, center, arrives with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper for a joint news conference at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan on Feb. 29, 2020.

We Must Make the Right Kind of Peace in Afghanistan, If We Are to Honor Our Sacrifice There.

As we take the first major, halting steps toward a peace agreement in Afgha...

As we take the first major, halting steps toward a peace agreement in Afghanistan, all I can remember is how we got there in the first place. On 9/11, I was a newly promoted one-star...

Afghan protesters march for peace and ceasefire as they hold banners in the Kandahar province on Jan. 17, 2019.

I Fought the Taliban. Now I'm Ready to Meet Them at the Ballot Box.

On September 26, 1996, the Taliban captured Kabul. I was a junior staffer a...

On September 26, 1996, the Taliban captured Kabul. I was a junior staffer at the Afghan Ministry of Defense. My job was mainly liaising with foreign and local media, international aid organizations and the small...

American military personnel at Camp Shorabak in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, Sept. 26, 2019.

We'll Need Bold Imaginations to Make a Lasting Peace in Afghanistan

Having fought in both Iraq and Afghanistan, I am often asked what I think d...

Having fought in both Iraq and Afghanistan, I am often asked what I think distinguished the two wars from one another. The answer is imagination, and I believe this is the critical element upon which...