December 23rd, 2009 by Zack

Time reports that Mohammad Yunos Shirnagha, a member of the Afghan parliament, was mistakenly killed in a shoot-out with police who were attempting to ambush a Taliban transport.  The New York Times reports that President Karzai has called for an investigation into the murder of his 18 year-old cousin Waheed Karzai. Waheed’s family believe he was murdered by another Karzai family member as part of an old family feud, leading President Karzai to cover up the incident for political reasons.

Mark Major in Foreign Policy discusses Lt. Gen. William Caldwell’s new strategy to whip the Afghan army into shape by focusing on the quality of the army, rather than the quantity of troops.

Gregg Carlstrom at The Majlis rebuffs Ann Friedman’s argument (see our previous post)  that the mission in Afghanistan has never been about humanitarianism, especially concerning the liberation of women. Carlstrom argues that even though the military does not work toward humanitarian goals, the greater stability brought by a troop increase will engender more protection and freedom for Afghan women. He also asks that the media stop using activist Malalai Joya as the representative voice “of everyone with ovaries between Herat and the Khyber Pass.”

Lastly, Der Spiegel carries an editorial by Olaf Ihlau about Germany’s defense minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg’s change of heart and his new willingness to engage moderate Taliban elements.  Ihlau argues that engaging the Taliban is the only way to adequately start a German exit strategy.

Posted in Afghanistan, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Freedom, Islam and Democracy, Military, Reform, Taliban, US foreign policy, Women |