For women and girls in Afghanistan, life has become one big “No.” No school beyond the sixth grade. No traveling without a male guardian. Death by stoning for “moral crimes” such as adultery. In most places, women must cover themselves from head to toe if they leave the house. And …
Read More »'Fremont' Is the Best Kind of Indie-Movie Throwback
A long time ago, in what might as well have been a galaxy far, far away, Donya (Anaita Wali Zada) was a translator for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan. Now, this young woman lives in the Bay Area town of Fremont, a stone’s throw from Silicon Valley and a dozen …
Read More »A Rare, Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Taliban — and Their U.S. Weapons
A Taliban air force commander walks into a big, empty gym with his men and hops onto a treadmill. He burns a few calories, cracks a couple of muted jokes, and steps off before lifting a couple of dumbbells. “This was fun,” he says without affect, and moves on to …
Read More »The Afghanistan Girls Soccer Team's Daring Escape From the Taliban
I think the thing I love most about sports is that under the right set of unpredictable and unlikely circumstances, they can give you that ineffable feeling that anything is possible. Watching the Women’s World Cup this summer, I got that feeling a few times. First, there was the night …
Read More »Rebel, Kingmaker, and Accused War Criminal: The Last Confessions of an Afghan Warlord
I T’S PUSHING MIDNIGHT when my armored escort pulls up to a high-walled compound on the outskirts of Ankara, the Turkish capital. After more than a year and a half of waiting, Abdul Rashid Dostum, Afghanistan’s most notorious and elusive warlord, has summoned me for an interview, his first since …
Read More »Twitter Beats Out Threads for Coveted Taliban Leader Endorsement
Twitter may be struggling to court advertisers, keep the site actually running, and prevent users from fleeing to eager competitors — but at least the Taliban likes it. On Monday, Anas Haqqani, a senior leader in the Taliban, praised Twitter in response to the launch of Meta’s Threads, a Twitter …
Read More »Senators Demand Answers on 'American Taliban' Meeting With ISIS Supporter
Two senators are asking the Justice Department how “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh was able to meet with a convicted ISIS supporter in full view of the FBI while out on parole. In a letter obtained by Rolling Stone, Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.) wrote to Attorney …
Read More »Prince Harry Tells Colbert He Wrote About Killing 25 People to 'Reduce' Suicides
Prince Harry has been inescapable over the past couple of weeks, as the quasi-royal makes the press rounds promoting his new memoir Spare. One of the more disturbing details the Duke of Sussex shared in his book concerned his time as a soldier in Afghanistan. Prince Harry served ten years …
Read More »Florida Candidate Compares Democrats to Taliban, Al Qaeda In Campaign Ad
Florida GOP congressional candidate Cory Mills is running a campaign ad comparing Democrats to members of the terrorist group Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The ad compares President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — as well as perceived cultural enemies like Tony Fauci — to foreign terror groups …
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