Tag: Afghanistan

Political Psychology of International Relations
Analysis, Featured

Political Psychology of International Relations

In international relations, three cognitive psychological concepts are used to understand and decode the behavioral aspects of political leadership across the world: Confirmation Bias, Fundamental attribution error and Prospect theory.Critical thinking and decision making approach applied to political psychology allows us to carefully deconstruct a situation, reveal its hidden issues such as bias and manipulation and make the best decision from the available choices.The critical thinking approach would not eradicate difficult decisions in national or international politics. But it can help the decision makers to increase the number of positive choices we make.Tools of psychology might not be able to resolve the complexities involved in international and national politics, but it provi...
The Omnipotent force behind USA’s National Security and Foreign Policy – American Military Industrial Complex (AMIC)
Analysis, Featured, North America

The Omnipotent force behind USA’s National Security and Foreign Policy – American Military Industrial Complex (AMIC)

The American Military Industrial Complex (AMIC) is a perceived informal alliance between a portion of the nation’s scientific and technological community, its defence establishment and certain sectors of the country’s military base. In 2021 the defence Budget of the US has gone up to $778 Billion, which means the United States spends more on defence than the next 11 countries combined amongst the highest defence spenders of the world.The political arrangement of the AMIC is very different from the way the competitive markets work, as it has important consequences on the country’s national security and foreign policy decision making. This fundamental lack of basic accounting processes and controls, means that the Pentagon is unable to keep track of its financial resources and expenditu...
Can the National Resistance Front upstage Taliban in Afghanistan?
Asia

Can the National Resistance Front upstage Taliban in Afghanistan?

https://youtu.be/VnuPIITk--8 The National Resistance Front (NRF) of Afghanistan has vowed to keep its momentum strong against the Taliban. The NRF is a grassroots resistance movement that emerged from the rugged terrain of the Panjshir Valley. Historically, the Panjshir Valley has served as a pocket of resistance in the past against the Soviet invasion. Subsequently the grassroots movement from Panjshir has fought against the rise of Taliban since 1990s. The NRF is led by Ahmad Massoud, son of Ahmad Shah Massoud or the “Lion of Panjshir”. Ahmad Shah Massoud played a critical role in forming an anti-Taliban resistance after it came to power in 1996. NRF says it has respect for the law, human rights, women’s rights, children’s rights and freedom. The group is making both pol...
Decoding the India-Russia strategic Ties – An Evaluation of Strengths and Shortcomings
Analysis, Asia, Featured

Decoding the India-Russia strategic Ties – An Evaluation of Strengths and Shortcomings

India’s foreign policy towards Russia has been of sustained continuity, irrespective of the change in Governments and their ideological backgrounds. The introduction of 2+2 dialogue between the defence and external affairs counterparts at the ministerial level further strengthens the relationship. The Russian support to India has also taken cognizance of the growing hostilities between India and China on the border dispute. Russia fears that the USA would encircle it in the Indian Ocean by using its naval assets and would create trouble during a potential conflict. India being the strategic partner of both Russia and the USA has failed to address this issue constructively. Russia continues to hold a strong rapport with India despite the institutional paradigm shifts that have taken...
More than 100 former Afghan police and intelligence officers killed by the Taliban
Asia, Featured

More than 100 former Afghan police and intelligence officers killed by the Taliban

A Human Rights Watch report released on Tuesday claims that the Taliban terrorists have killed or forcibly “disappeared” more than 100 former Afghan police and intelligence officers since taking power in Afghanistan. The report "No Forgiveness for People Like You,’ Executions and Enforced Disappearances in Afghanistan under the Taliban" categorically states that this was part of the continuing retaliation against the Afghan armed forces of the ousted government. The summary of the report published on the website states that the executions and disappearances have generated fear among former government officials and others who might have believed that the Taliban takeover would bring an end to the revenge attacks that had been characteristic of Afghanistan’s long armed conflict. ...
Arms dealers thrive under the Taliban in Afghanistan
Asia, Featured, World

Arms dealers thrive under the Taliban in Afghanistan

https://youtu.be/QvCGnLIdDYc Arms dealers are making the most of Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Weapon-owners are parting with their weapons Weapons from Afghan soldiers make it to the arms dealers. Abandoned US military bases are a major source of weapons. Civilians too are selling guns to the arms dealers price. Weapons in turn sold to the Taliban and other Mujahideen Dealers deal in Combat vests, US-made pistols and ammunition belts AK-47, US-made M4 and M16 assault rifles Light machine guns, grenades, walkie-talkies and bullets. Buying and selling of arms illegally easy under the Taliban. Arms make their way to the international weapons black market. In turn, in the hands of terror groups in other parts of the world
‘Do Not Touch My Clothes’ – Afghan Women’s Online Campaign Against Taliban Dress Code
Asia, Featured, World

‘Do Not Touch My Clothes’ – Afghan Women’s Online Campaign Against Taliban Dress Code

https://youtu.be/51WEVXLCtMM Afghan women around the world are protesting Taliban's new Burkha/Hijab rule. Black burqa has never been a part of the Afghan culture. Women from Afghanistan are posting photos of themselves wearing traditional dresses on social. The online protest with hastags #DoNotTouchMyClothes & #AfghanistanCulture has taken Twitter by storm. Here are few of the protest messages and images posted on Twitter. https://twitter.com/NatashaFatah/status/1437383618427506688 This is the real Afghan culture the Taliban are trying to hide - @tamana_nasir https://twitter.com/tamana_nasir/status/1437598155567075330 This is Afghan culture. I am wearing a traditional Afghan dress - Dr. Bahar Jalali (@RoxanaBahar1) https://twitter.com/RoxanaBahar1/stat...
Qatar or Pakistan: Who will control the Taliban?
Asia, Featured, World

Qatar or Pakistan: Who will control the Taliban?

https://youtu.be/o__MDcCVOY4 Over the past decade, Qatar has emerged as an effective interlocutor between the West and the Taliban. By brokering peace negotiations in Doha, Qatar paved the way for the American withdrawal and the terror group's return to power. On the other hand, Pakistan caused the birth of Taliban’s, midwifed by Islamabad’s intelligence services, in the early 1990s. After the defeat of the Taliban in 2001, Pakistan provided the safe havens for them to regroup, rearm and return to the fray. Now, the two countries are in a pitched battle for influence over the terror group ruling in Kabul. Although the terror group is headed by a supreme leader, Habitullah Akhundzada, it is not a monolith. Qatar is aligned with the faction led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who ...
“Are we not part of Muslim ‘Ummah’?”, ask Uyghurs as Taliban plans to deport them to China for money
Asia, Featured

“Are we not part of Muslim ‘Ummah’?”, ask Uyghurs as Taliban plans to deport them to China for money

After the Taliban took over Kabul on August 15, there are growing apprehensions among the Uyghurs living in Afghanistan who fear they might be sent back to China in lieu of large sums of money. Some two thousand Uyghur Muslims are living in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan at present and there are reports that the Taliban fighters have taken Uygher girls according to a report by Radio Free Asia. International Islamic terror group Al Qaeda which called on the masses in “Europe and East Asia to break free from the shackles of American hegemony”, did not say anything when it came to the treatment of the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang in China. Al Qaeda had congratulated the Taliban for its victory in Afghanistan and called for the “liberation” of Kashmir, Palestine, Maghreb (Northwest...
India’s Foreign Policy considerations in Afghanistan – An overview
Analysis, Featured, National

India’s Foreign Policy considerations in Afghanistan – An overview

Taliban's seizure of Kabul on Sunday ( August 15) officially established the supremacy of the Taliban as a towering national power in Afghanistan. From now on the republic of Afghanistan's nomenclature will be declared as an Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA). The past experience of India with the Taliban is of heightened terrorism and a serious national security threat. India's strategic community and institutional memory of the Kashmir Jihad in the 1990s, bomb blasts and terror attacks across the country have left the deep scars of conflict trauma, in which the Pakistani deep state and elements of Taliban were directly involved. But 20 years down the line, the situation, circumstances and conflict dynamics in Afghan-Taliban have significantly changed. Their geopolitical, milita...