International

More Airpower Wouldn’t Have Saved Afghanistan 0
- International
- August 25, 2021
Why did the modernized Afghan army lose so spectacularly to the Taliban after so much training and material support from the United States? One emerging talking point among British and American pundits is that the United States failed to provide sufficient air power. While it is true that U.S. airpower could have aided the Afghan
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Notes From the French COVID Underground 0
- International
- August 24, 2021
A 60-something French Intellectual Takeout reader and I began an email correspondence a few years ago. We lost touch in recent months, but when I learned of the severe COVID-19 restrictions being enforced in France, I reestablished contact to get her impressions. “I belong to the vax and health pass resistant group,” Marie wrote, “and
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The ABCs of Afghanistan 0
- International
- August 23, 2021
A is for Afghanistan. A faraway, hardcore Muslim country that remains utterly mysterious to our political, intelligence, and military elites even after two decades of intervention. Between October 2001 and August 2021 America squandered more than $2 trillion and more than 2,000 lives for no clear objective or tangible benefit. B is for the Washington Beltway. The
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Aftermath of an Afghanistan Debacle 0
- International
- August 20, 2021
In Afghanistan, the mission failure appears complete. The trillion-dollar project to plant Western democracy in a Muslim nation historically fabled for driving out imperial intruders has crashed and burned after 20 years, and the Taliban are suddenly back in power. After investing scores of billions in training and arming a force of 350,000 Afghani troops,
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The Taliban May Have Provided a Sputnik Moment for Wokeness 0
- International
- August 18, 2021
In 1957, the supposedly backward Soviet Union launched a satellite into orbit and the threat of Soviet rockets became real for millions of Americans. Fortunately, the Sputnik moment galvanized a massive American response and we soon caught up and overtook the Soviets. Conceivably, the current collapse of our Afghanistan adventure might be a similar “Sputnik
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The Looming Afghan Collapse 0
- International
- August 12, 2021
As of Thursday morning, August 12 the Taliban were in control of eleven provincial capitals in Afghanistan, including the important northeastern city of Kunduz, following a sweep across the north of the country in recent days. The insurgents encountered minimal resistance from the Afghan National Army. The insurgents now have their sights on Mazar-i-Sharif, the largest city in the mostly
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