For the next four and a half minutes, imagine that you’re Asif Ali Zardari, the president of Pakistan. You’re looking westward at your neighbor, Afghanistan, and you see an unstable Afghan government plagued by corruption. You see a weak Afghan military incapable of protecting civilians – let alone defeating the Taliban – without American support.…
Topic: Afghanistan War
JCU freshman Matthew Hoyt offers a first-hand account of the War in Afghanistan
It seemed like just another ordinary day for Police Mentor Team Viper. Enduring the scorching heat of summer in southern Afghanistan, the team was on its way to a village about 60 kilometers north of Kandahar, the country’s second largest city. The village led right up into the rugged Afghan mountains – the same mountains…
Word for Word: With JCU’s Matthew Hoyt
CN: What is your perception of the Afghan people? Were they different than what you expected?
MH: Not really. In the north, the Afghans are more educated and less religious. And in the south, many of the Afghans are farmers who live day by day.
CN: What is the tribal structure like in Afghanistan?
The…
Afghan president agrees to runoff election in face of fraud allegations
Afghanistan made its first step towards re-establishing credibility to its government after President Hamid Karzai conceded the need for a runoff in the recently disputed presidential election.
According to CNN, Karzai won the Aug. 20 election outright. However, a subsequent recount of the votes by a U.N. panel of election monitors voided nearly one-third of…
