Harry's Place

Some remarkable photos.

CNN reports:
Britain’s Prince Harry has acknowledged that he killed Taliban insurgents on his latest tour of duty in Afghanistan as a crew member of an Apache attack helicopter.
Here are some of the reasons I approve.
–Malala Yousafzai.
–Fatwa opposing polio vaccinations.
–Poisoning of hundreds of Afghan schoolgirls and their teachers.
–Killing of the headteacher of a girls’ [...]

I know I promised not to speak of Clint Eastwood’s remarkable performance Thursday at the Republican convention, but I do want to give him credit for one thing: he was, as far as I know, the only speaker to mention the war in Afghanistan.
The renowned filmmaker suggested that invading Afghanistan was a foolhardy decision and [...]

This photo essay by Martin Middlebrook presents a more hopeful (though not blindly so) picture of Afghanistan’s present and possible future than we often get.

Update: What a remarkable woman:

When David Cameron authorized the rescue operation for Linda Norgrove, there would have been awareness of the murder of previous British aid workers in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Although there also would have been awareness of the inherent risk in any such action, it was ugly chance which led to her death.
Thankfully, a similar [...]

News that the Taliban poisoned still more Afghan schoolgirls in an effort to discourage them from getting an education came on the same day that I noticed this report:

U.S. Marine Sgt. William Stacey was killed earlier this year by a homemade bomb in southern Afghanistan, a tragedy for which he prepared by writing a letter [...]

“I could have interviewed [the Taliban] anytime I wanted . . . but that’s something I won’t do, I confess, I am a partisan,” said Canadian journalist and blogger Terry Glavin about his visits to Afghanistan. “If I had the opportunity I’d call in the fucking drones, make no apologies for it.”
What else can you [...]

The BBC reports
Afghanistan’s top religious council has said women should not mix with men in school, work or other aspects of daily life. The Ulema Council has also said that women should not travel without a male relative. The BBC’s Orla Guerin has been hearing reaction to the ruling from people in Kabul.
The comments by [...]

Cross-posted from Terry Glavin
Seriously. There comes a point when you really have to wonder why Afghans are getting slagged off as the freakout-prone lunatics in the latest koran-burning rumpus, but not North American windbags across the spectrum from the hard-right to the pseudo-left.
“It’s happening a lot, and it’s really putting a lie to the idea [...]

This is cool (and of course would have been unimaginable under Taliban rule).