When did the US lose Afghanistan?
August 15, 2021, was the day Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, and the US lost the war. Or was it? After following the war for over two decades, it’s become clear that Afghanistan wasn’t lost in...
Doha Agreement
Analysis: Taliban leader Sirajuddin Haqqani becomes a statesman
Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani in Hajj. pic.twitter.com/TGlhRiPbR9— Muhammad Jalal (@MJalalAf) June 7, 2024 ...
Op-eds
Architect of Doha agreement wrongly claims: ‘Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent has been dismantled’
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former Special Repressive for Afghanistan Reconciliation and the key architect of the Doha Agreement which aided the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, claimed that Al Qaeda’s...
Op-eds
Two years after U.S. withdrawal, the Taliban enjoys an iron-fisted grip on Afghanistan
Two years ago on this day, the Taliban marched into Kabul and triumphantly seized back control of Afghanistan. Two weeks later, on Aug. 30, 2021, the last U.S. soldier left the country. Since the U.S....
Op-eds
Taliban again denies TTP presence in Afghanistan
The Taliban continues to claim that there are no foreign terror groups operating inside Afghanistan, despite plenty of evidence to the contrary. The latest denial came this week when the Taliban was pressed...
Op-eds
FDD’s Long War Journal’s response to Zalmay Khalilzad’s Twitter thread
In a brief Twitter thread responding to a recent article from The Washington Post, Zalmay Khalilzad, one of the key architects of the 2020 Doha Agreement that set the stage for the collapse...
Op-eds
U.S. kills Al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri in drone strike
Al Qaeda emir Ayman Zawahiri was confirmed killed in a U.S. drone strike in Kabul on Sunday in the first air strike conducted in Afghanistan since U.S. forces completely withdrew from country last year....
Op-eds
The Taliban Is Using the Doha Accord to Protect Al-Qaeda
That's one of many problems with ‘over the horizon’ counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan.
Op-eds
Taliban squeezes Afghan government by seizing key border towns
In addition to militarily taking control of key districts throughout the country, the Taliban is cutting off the key revenue sources to the Afghan government by taking control of important border crossings...
Op-eds
Afghanistan at risk of collapse as Taliban storms the north
Afghanistan is at risk of complete collapse after the Taliban has made dramatic gains in recent days, striking at the heart of the Afghan government’s base of power in the north while seizing control...
Op-eds
Taliban demands U.S. withdraw forces by May 1 deadline
The Taliban has rejected President Biden’s decision to withdrawal all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of Al Qaeda’s attack on the U.S., and demanded that all U.S....
Op-eds
Taliban pushes Osama bin Laden truther conspiracy theories
The Taliban promoted two conspiracy theories related to Al Qaeda founder and its first emir, Osama bin Laden. The Taliban denied he was responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S. and questioned...
Op-eds
NDS kills Al Qaeda commander in eastern Afghanistan
د ملی امنيت دلوی رياست ځانګړو ځواکونو د پکتيکا په ګيان کې د القاعدې د هند وچې غړی دولت بیګ مشهور په ابومحمدالتاجکي...
Op-eds
Taliban threatens to ‘continue its Jihad’ if U.S., NATO forces remain in Afghanistan
The Taliban threatened to “continue its Jihad and armed struggle against foreign forces” if the U.S. and NATO forces remain in Afghanistan past the previously announced date of May 1, 2021. The statement...
Op-eds
International Law and the Hamas-Fatah Doha Deal
As the PLO moves toward Hamas, it moves away, in an inverse relationship, from international legality.
Op-eds
The Lebanese Elections and Hezbollah’s Agenda
On Sunday, June 7, Lebanon will go to the polls to elect a new parliament. News reports and analyses are abuzz with the possibility of the emergence of a new parliamentary majority comprised of a...
Congressional Testimonies
We Saw It Coming
The resignation of Hezbollah and its allies from the Lebanese government was, in many ways, foreseeable. Hezbollah and Prime Minister Saad Hariri's respective positions on the Special Tribun...
Op-eds
Syrian Pretension And Reality in Iraq
Recent news reports about the arduous process of government formation in Iraq suggest that a deal may be in the works that would see incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki keep his post. If tru...
Op-eds
The Islamic Revolution Is Still Alive
The recent tension in South Lebanon, choreographed by Hezbollah against UNIFIL under the guise of spontaneous protests by villagers, has been used by the party to reassert its equation of “...
Op-eds
For Hezbollah, Lebanon is an Afterthought
Two things were unsurprising about Hezbollah’s political document, unveiled on November 30 by the party’s secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, namely its content and characteriz...