Drones / drone warfare

Topic: Drones / drone warfare

"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 humanity Persian singer Mamak Khadem: Open to new influences Afghanistan: Victim-blaming – a trope of the West's failure in Afghanistan Qantara dossier: "Musical worlds"

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-style The West's failure in Afghanistan: Authors of 'War on Terror' in denial to the bitter end Afghanistan 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 end War crimes on the Hindu Kush? Death by drone – the United States' vicious Afghan legacy Interview 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 terror Afghanistan 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 choice Military force and drone warfare: Post-truth victims Drone 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 Afghanistan U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan: Joe Biden and the West's betrayal of the Hindu Kush Interview 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 Kush Afghanistan's decline and long search for peace: A slide into war and chaos The fate of Europe's unwanted Afghans: "Deportee Central" – a seedy hotel in downtown Kabul No 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 Taliban 19 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 victims Drone 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 Arabia Saudi-Iranian conflict: Sleepwalking into war U.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 dictators US 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 programme Noam Chomsky in interview: Obama's sangfroid

The American linguist, philosopher and activist Noam Chomsky (photo: dpa)

Noam Chomsky in interview

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 everyone Saudi-Iranian rivalry: And the winner is...Europe′s response to the refugee crisis: "Ugly, feckless and dysfunctional"

Taliban fighters east of Kabul (photo: picture-alliance/AP/R. Gul)

The Taliban′s spring offensive

Over one million displaced Afghans

The most recent suicide attack on the outskirts of Kabul shows once again that in Afghanistan, battles are not only being fought between the army and the rebels. Anyone can find themselves targeted and civilians are the ones suffering the most. By Matthias LauerMore

Afghan refugees in Pakistan: Underprivileged and unwanted Afghanistan: the Taliban′s Kunduz offensive: "There's nothing left to keep me here"NATO in Afghanistan: Hopes of withdrawal fade

Atef Abu Saif (photo: picture-alliance/AP Photo/N. Nasser)

Book review: "The Drone Eats with Me" by Atef Abu Saif

A war without distinct edges

Throughout history, countless literary accounts of war and the suffering it brings have been written. Gazan author Atef Abu Saif has added something new to this body of literature, namely an account of civilian life during the Gaza conflict in 2014 that describes the war and the impact of drone warfare from the viewpoint of a non-combatant. By Marcia Lynx QualeyMore

Interview with journalist Chris Woods on drone warfare: "It's not risk-free war, it's displaced war" Media portrayals and geopolitics in the Near and Middle East: Who shapes our image of the world?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 programme

Activists from Reporters without Borders demonstrating on the Champs Elysee in Paris in July 2012 against the oppression and torture of journalists in Iran (photo: EPA/IAN LANGSDON)

Media portrayals and geopolitics in the Near and Middle East

Who shapes our image of the world?

In this commentary, Charlotte Wiedemann considers how press freedom and the media are tethered to Western geopoliticsMore

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"Qantara.de dossier: Yemen conflict Media in Egypt: Fall into line or switch off

An unmanned US Predator drone flies over Kandahar Air Field, southern Afghanistan, on a moonlit night, 31 January 2010 (photo: picture-alliance/AP Photo/K. Wigglesworth)

Interview with journalist Chris Woods on drone warfare

"It's not risk-free war, it's displaced war"

For more than a decade now, the US has been using drones in warfare. During this time, thousands of people, especially civilians, have been killed by the unmanned machines. In this interview, Chris Woods, one of the leading investigative journalists on drone warfare, explains to Emran Feroz why use of drones is on the rise and what the consequences areMore

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 programme The emergence of Islamic State in Pakistan: "They don't negotiate, they don't make partners"

Topic: Drones / drone warfare

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