Editorial Cartoons

Covid’s Back. I’m Positive.

Ed Wexler Sep 25, 2023 Dig deeper

The Folly of the Next ‘Surge’ in Afghanistan

By Danny Sjursen / TomDispatch Jul 4, 2017 With Donald Trump's generals considering renewed action, a U.S. Army strategist recalls his time in Afghanistan in 2011. Dig deeper ( 12 Min. Read )

Another Scandal Among Officers Who No Longer Win Wars

William Pfaff / Truthdig Nov 14, 2012 As a former serviceman, I have been long bemused by the proliferation of ribbons and other decorations on the chests of today's high-ranking army officers, now mired in scandal. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Democracy Building Is Back in Fashion

William Pfaff / Truthdig Jul 6, 2011 I heard a brilliant young Harvard scholar, influential in the Obama administration, explain that the future of successful American action in Central Asia lies in a "surge" of civilian political and developmental action to rescue the people of the region from their present backwardness. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Trapped in Afghanistan

Mike Luckovich / Truthdig Jun 24, 2011 Dig deeper

Bad News for a Country Tired of War

Bill Boyarsky / Truthdig Jun 23, 2011 Barack Obama’s plan for a limited withdrawal from Afghanistan means tens of thousands of American troops will remain there, many of them fighting, for several years to come. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Obama Expects Three More Years of War

Staff / Truthdig Jun 23, 2011 The word surge implies a certain brevity, but according to Barack Obama's withdrawal plans, announced Wednesday, it will end up taking two and a half years from the day the president ordered his Afghanistan surge to bring home those extra 33,000 US troops sent to that country U involvement in the war (more). Dig deeper ( 9 Min. Read )

Obama Expected to Announce Afghanistan Decision Wednesday

Staff / Truthdig Jun 21, 2011 Set your TiVos: The White House announced Monday that the president will deliver an Afghanistan speech Wednesday. Obama's advisers have been debating how many of the more than 100,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan to bring home, with the military's top brass pushing to keep most there indefinitely. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Once Again, Obama Faces a Choice in Afghanistan

Staff / Truthdig Jun 20, 2011 Back in 2009, President Obama was presented with two options for the war in Afghanistan: a troop surge favored by the military and a leaner counterterrorism strategy promoted by Vice President Joe Biden. He went with the surge, sending an additional 30,000 troops to fight in a war without purpose. (more) Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

White House Sees Progress in Afghanistan

Staff / Truthdig Dec 16, 2010 A White House review of the mess in Afghanistan will reportedly declare that some modest progress has been made toward the administration’s goals (vague and illogical though they may be), despite widespread skepticism and the most allied casualties since the start of the war in 2001. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Obama and Iraq: ‘Through a Glass, Darkly’

Scott Ritter / Truthdig Sep 21, 2010 The president and the American people will all too soon come to recognize that the quagmire in Iraq is far from over. In fact, one might say it has only just begun. Dig deeper ( 8 Min. Read )

A New Season in Military Fashions

William Pfaff / Truthdig Sep 15, 2010 "Transformation" is the new military buzzword, meaning reorienting the military institution for "the complex insurgencies" that "planners say will dominate the 21st century." Robert Gates, the U.S. secretary of defense, was quoted as saying that Afghanistan provides the "laboratory" for this change. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )