Sami Moubayed, Newlines
In the mid-1920s, King Amanullah of Afghanistan stood before an audience at his palace in Kabul to give a speech on the many ways forward for his kingdom. Speaking slowly and with carefully chosen words, he said, "Islam does not require women to cover their bodies or wear any kind of veil." He gave an example of Prophet Muhammad's wives, who took part in battles unveiled, and he made specific reference to the prophet's first wife, Khadijah, who was a wealthy businessperson... Читать дальше...
Javier Solana, Project Syndicate
Europe must not reject complacency by embracing declinism. Rather than resigning themselves to inevitable decline, Europeans should recognize and celebrate Europe's strengths, recognizing that its greatness consists in its being greater than the sum of its parts.
Anchal Vohra, Foreign Policy
A faction of the new Afghan government is extraordinarily close to al Qaeda and other terror groups—including the Islamic State.
Naw Theresa, The Diplomat
The spectacular fall of the U.S.-supported Afghan state to the Taliban has sent shockwaves across the globe. The rapid collapse of the Afghan National Army (ANA), the flight of President Ashraf Ghani, and the ensuing chaos are bound to cast long shadows on U.S. credibility in the context of an increasingly unpredictable regional security situation.
Ken Kotani, East Asia Forum
When asked about Japan participating in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance, ex-US and British intelligence officers usually claimed it was difficult because Japan differs in culture and language. This situation has dramatically changed in recent years.
Hall Gardner, National Interest
Stronger U.S.-EU strategic coordination is urgently needed to prevent the possibility that regional conflicts could draw the United States and the Europeans into new forms of "hybrid warfare" against a Eurasian axis of predominantly "authoritarian" states.
Olivier-Rémy Bel & Petr Tůma, Atlantic Council
Summary: While our interlocutors in Mali were split, focusing either on areas showing progress or those that are deteriorating, they did agree on one thing: The country is at an inflection point. Against the backdrop of two coups, interethnic and terrorist violence moving south toward Bamako, and France shifting its posture in the Sahel, this could be the last chance to stabilize Mali. Doing so will require...
Al Monitor
The Biden administration has vowed retaliation against the Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) for the Aug. 26 attack on the Kabul airport thath killed 13 US armed service members and over 90 Afghan civilians. More violence is likely. US Marine Corps Gen. and CENTCOM commander Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie said after the attack that "we expect those attacks to continue."
Mike Watson, The Dispatch
Now is a time neither for retrenchment nor redoubling.
Rachel Tecott, Foreign Affairs
The United States' effort to strengthen the Afghan security forces has come to an ignominious end. The U.S. military spent 20 years and $83 billion building up a force that melted away in a matter of weeks, ceding the country to the Taliban over that period with barely a shot fired.
