Topic: Drones / drone warfare

rss-iconSubscribe to feed
Government statement by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the Bundestag on the Ukraine crisis on 27 February (photo: Michael Sohn/AP/picture-alliance)

Ukraine war

The deep desire to declare a state of emergency

Russia's attack on Ukraine took Germany by surprise. The "end of an era" has shifted the political focus to the military, bringing back stale memories of the Western response to the attacks of 9/11. Essay by Stefan BuchenMore

9/11 twenty years on: How the 'War on Terror' destabilised the Middle EastSurveillance and domestic security since 9/11: Like donkeys carrying booksAfghanistan: Victim-blaming – a trope of the West's failure in AfghanistanThe West's failure in Afghanistan: Authors of 'War on Terror' in denial to the bitter endAmerica and the War on Terror: Guantanamo's "forever prisoners"
Turkish TB2 drone (photo: Getty Images/AFP)

Arms to Ukraine

How useful are Turkish-made drones fighting in Ukraine?

Propaganda videos boasting of the successes of the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones in the Ukraine war are popular on social media. Elmas Topcu asks what role these drones are really playing in the conflictMore

Ukraine conflict: Turkey and Israel eye co-operation in Central AsiaRussia's invasion of Ukraine: What impact on the Arab world?Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin: Sunni Islam meets Russian orthodoxy
Participants at the Turkey-Africa summit held in Ankara on 17 December 2021 (photo: Shadati/Xinhua/imago images)

Turkey-Africa summit

Erdogan scores "Made in Turkey" points

Ankara staged its third Turkey-Africa summit on 17 December, a sign of growing economic partnership under President Erdogan. Military co-operation is also a hot topic. Martina Schwikowski, Daniel Bellut and Pelin Unker have the detailsMore

Ankara’s Maghreb moment: Advancing Turkey's economic, energy, and military aimsMask diplomacy and power politics: Erdogan's foreign policy in the shadow of coronavirusArmed with drones, Turkey explores African arms sales
Tankers bombed by the Bundeswehr in Kunduz, Afghanistan (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/J.Kargar)

The Longest War – 20 years of the "War on Terror"

Afghanistan: Emran Feroz' chronology of a disaster

The "War on Terror" has not only failed in Afghanistan, it has exacerbated insecurity and generated more terrorism. This is the main thrust of journalist Emran Feroz in his book, which was published, appropriately enough, 20 years after the attacks of 11 September 2001 and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan by the USA and NATO. Behnam Said read the book for Qantara.deMore

The West's failure in Afghanistan: Authors of 'War on Terror' in denial to the bitter endWar crimes on the Hindu Kush? Death by drone – the United States' vicious Afghan legacyDrone war in Afghanistan and Pakistan: Living in the shadow of the "angels of death"Hisham A. Hellyer on "the War on Terror": "You cannot rely on the West"
"Female Voice of Afghanistan" streaming festival poster (photo: Zeitgenössische Oper Berlin)

"Female Voice of Afghanistan" streaming festival

Afghan women raise their voices against trauma

The streaming festival "Female Voice of Afghanistan" by the Zeitgenössische Oper Berlin gives Afghan female musicians a global platform – at a time when their situation has worsened dramatically. Stefan Franzen reports for Qantara.deMore

″War, Exile and the Music of Afghanistan″ by John Baily: Without music, no humanityPersian singer Mamak Khadem: Open to new influencesAfghanistan: Victim-blaming – a trope of the West's failure in AfghanistanQantara dossier: "Musical worlds"
Protest in Berlin regarding the evacuation of civilians from Afghanistan; the German placard reads "Blood on your hands" (photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Afghanistan

Victim-blaming – a trope of the West's failure in Afghanistan

One prominent narrative relating to the defeat of the western-led military intervention in Afghanistan is that it was a mistake to try to build a modern democracy in a society steeped in "mediaeval traditions" and "tribal attitudes". Hans Dembowski condemns this self-serving and condescending standpoint, which persists in ignoring the serious flaws in the West's engagement, while blaming the victims for its failureMore

Afghanistan's opium trade: A nice little earner – for everyone"Neo-Taliban" in Afghanistan?: Democracy Taliban-styleThe West's failure in Afghanistan: Authors of 'War on Terror' in denial to the bitter endAfghanistan and Iran: Can Iran be friends with the Taliban?
Major General Christopher Donahue, commander of the 82nd US Airborne Division, was the last U.S. soldier to leave Afghanistan (photo: Reuters)

Western withdrawal from Afghanistan

The symbolic importance of the U.S. defeat

Caught up in discussions on the future of local Afghan forces and new Islamist threats, people are failing to grasp the historic scale of the debacle, argues Stefan Buchen in his essayMore

The West's failure in Afghanistan: Authors of 'War on Terror' in denial to the bitter endWar crimes on the Hindu Kush? Death by drone – the United States' vicious Afghan legacyInterview with Afghanistan expert Ahmed Rashid: "The Americans were completely devoid of any strategy"The legacy of 9/11: Why the world needs to re-think its war on terrorAfghanistan as the Western troop withdrawal nears: The failure of dialogue
An Afghan woman wearing a burka in Kabul (photo: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images)

The West's failure in Afghanistan

Authors of 'War on Terror' in denial to the bitter end

How could the Afghan government and its institutions collapse so quickly? That things were going wrong in Afghanistan had been obvious for a long time, yet the West preferred to look the other way, writes Emran FerozMore

Afghanistan in the hand of the Islamists: Taliban rule the second time round – what to expect?Taliban in the ascendant: Joe Biden and America’s withdrawal of choiceMilitary force and drone warfare: Post-truth victimsDrone war in Afghanistan and Pakistan: Living in the shadow of the "angels of death"
Taliban fighters and commanders sitting inside the presidential palace in Kabul (photo: Zabi Karim/AP Photo/picture-alliance)

Taliban in the ascendant

Joe Biden and America’s withdrawal of choice

The swift fall of Kabul recalls the ignominious fall of Saigon in 1975. Beyond the local consequences – widespread reprisals, harsh repression of women and girls, and massive refugee flows – America’s strategic and moral failure in Afghanistan will reinforce questions about U.S. reliability among friends and foes alike. By Richard HaassMore

U.S. and NATO withdraw from "the forever war": What we should all know about AfghanistanU.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan: Joe Biden and the West's betrayal of the Hindu KushInterview with Atiq Rahimi: Unable to move forward
German soldiers in Kunduz (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

U.S. and NATO withdraw from "the forever war"

What we should all know about Afghanistan

United States and NATO troops are leaving Afghanistan after 20 years, despite the fact that the Taliban is still advancing. The German Bundeswehr is already out. Sandra Petersmann examines the key issuesMore

U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan: Joe Biden and the West's betrayal of the Hindu KushAfghanistan's decline and long search for peace: A slide into war and chaosThe fate of Europe's unwanted Afghans: "Deportee Central" – a seedy hotel in downtown KabulNo end to conflict on the Hindu Kush? Islamic State threatens long-term peace in Afghanistan
Marking 20 years of German armed forces' mission in Afghanistan (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/Anja Niedringhaus)

U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan

Joe Biden and the West's betrayal of the Hindu Kush

The USA and NATO plan to withdraw from Afghanistan by September. The operation is risky, the outcome uncertain. Many Afghans fear civil war. The quake on the Hindu Kush will also impact Germany, writes Stefan Weidner in his commentaryMore

Afghanistan’s academics under fire: Must young Afghans be willing to die for an education?Afghanistanʹs political future: Is peace with the Taliban possible?After the peace conference in Doha: A test match with the Taliban19 years on from 9/11: Has Germany failed in Afghanistan?
U.S. drone on the tarmac in Afghanistan (photo: picture-alliance/ZUMA Press/Tsgt. Robert Cloys)

War crimes on the Hindu Kush?

Death by drone – the United States' vicious Afghan legacy

The United States carried out more drone attacks on Afghanistan in 2019 than in any other year since Pentagon records began in 2006. The victims of this questionable military tactic, portrayed as precision strikes to kill alleged militants, are frequently innocent civilians, yet no one seems to care. Emran Feroz reportsMore

Interview with journalist Chris Woods on drone warfare: "It's not risk-free war, it's displaced war"Military force and drone warfare: Post-truth victimsDrone war in Afghanistan and Pakistan: Living in the shadow of the "angels of death"
A pall of smoke hangs above the Aramco oil refinery in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia (photo: Reuters/Planet Labs)

Houthi attacks on Saudi oil facilities

Hitting Saudi Arabia where it hurts

After the drone attacks on two oil plants in Saudi Arabia, U.S. President Trump warned that the USA was ready with a "loaded" weapon to react to the attacks. But against whom is his warning directed? By Karim El-GawharyMore

Iran denies U.S. claim it was behind oil attack in Saudi ArabiaSaudi-Iranian conflict: Sleepwalking into warU.S.A and Iran: Trump – agent provocateur
Pro-Trump demonstrators in favour of the immigration ban (photo: Reuters/Ringo Chiu)

US Middle East foreign policy

West versus the rest

Trump′s policy attempts to apply a tourniquet to the perceived ′Muslim problem′ that has been manufactured and now exacerbated by the West′s wayward dealings in the Middle East. An analysis by Mishana HosseiniounMore

Middle East policy under Donald Trump: Return of the dictatorsUS foreign policy under Trump: Peace in our time?Military force and drone warfare: Post-truth victims
US MQ-1 drone in Yemen (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Military force and drone warfare

Post-truth victims

During the Obama era, the world witnessed what could be referred to as the 'dronification' of killing. Gone are combatant status, war goals and the option of negotiation. No prisoners are taken; people are just killed and anyone who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time just gets killed along with them. By Charlotte WiedemannMore

Interview with journalist Chris Woods on drone warfare: "It's not risk-free war, it's displaced war" Drone war in Afghanistan and Pakistan: Living in the shadow of the "angels of death"Interview with the Pakistani lawyer Mirza Shahzad Akbar: Fighting the injustice of the US drone programmeNoam Chomsky in interview: Obama's sangfroid
The American linguist, philosopher and activist Noam Chomsky (photo: dpa)

Noam Chomsky in interview

1

Obama's sangfroid

Former MIT professor and philosopher Noam Chomsky is widely regarded as one of the world's leading intellectuals. Undoubtedly, Chomsky's word has weight. Emran Feroz interviewed him on Barack Obama's political legacy in the Middle East, the deal with Iran and the refugee crisisMore

Syrian conflict: Everyone against everyoneSaudi-Iranian rivalry: And the winner is...Europe′s response to the refugee crisis: "Ugly, feckless and dysfunctional"

Pages