Tag Archives: Afghanistan

St Paul Meets Jehu: Is Quran Burner Terry Jones a Blasphemer or an Iconoclast?

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Santi Tafarella

I’m not sure blasphemy (a word from the Greek blasphemos, meaning “evil speaking”) is the right word for what Florida pastor Terry Jones did. To my mind, blasphemy has two levels. The first is honest and conscientious expression of non-Orthodox opinion. If I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

“Avatar” and the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Santi Tafarella

Something that jumped out at me in the film Avatar was this: the calamity that befell the blue pagan forest people came very close to tracking the calamity that befell the Jews in 70 CE (when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Barack Obama and Critical Thinking

Posted on December 5, 2009 by Santi Tafarella

According to the New York Times today, President Obama’s decision to send an additional 30,000 troops into Afghanistan was the product of a painstaking process of deliberation, dialogue, reading, debate, and general critical analysis: The three-month review that led to … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Barack Obama, Afghanistan, and a Book That Mattered

Posted on December 5, 2009 by Santi Tafarella

The New York Times today has a long piece on Barack Obama’s agonizing three month deliberative process that brought him, at the end, to order a surge of 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. The piece reveals that there was a book that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

President Barack Obama’s Afghanistan Speech (December 1, 2009)

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Santi Tafarella
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Adventures in New Atheistland: Jerry Coyne Calls Out Robert Wright for Being a “Blame America First” Muddle-Head in the War on Terror!

Posted on November 28, 2009 by Santi Tafarella

University of Chicago atheist biologist Jerry Coyne, at his blog today, summed up Robert Wright’s recent piece in the New York Times this way: The title of Wright’s piece is “Who created Major Hasan?”, and of course the answer is “America!” Coyne then … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Foreign Policy: I Thought Barack Obama Would Be This Way

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Santi Tafarella

And it’s one reason I voted for him. Here’s U.S National Security Advisor, General James Jones in an interview with Spiegel this week: SPIEGEL: Is it difficult to advise the president, Barack Obama? Jones: No, simply because he’s a very good student … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Get out of Afghanistan Now?

Posted on July 21, 2009 by Santi Tafarella

That’s former NY Times foreign correspondent Chris Hedges’s advice in an essay posted yesterday at TruthDig.com. Chris Hedges thinks that we’re in a quagmire in Afghanistan, and that we are, by meeting violence with violence, creating more problems for ourselves … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Afghan Crossed Lovers: Romeo, Juliet, the Taliban, and GAY MARRIAGE

Posted on April 14, 2009 by Santi Tafarella

Yes, there are real monsters in the world. This today in the Guardian: A young couple who tried to elope in one of the most lawless and conservative parts of Afghanistan have been publicly executed by Taliban gunmen after their … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

David Kilcullen Says WATCH PAKISTAN

Posted on March 23, 2009 by Santi Tafarella

The Washington Post interviewed David Kilcullen this weekend: Why is an Aussie anthropologist coaching American generals on how to win wars? David Kilcullen, an Australian army reservist and top adviser to Gen. David H. Petraeus during the troop surge in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Is Afghanistan a Quagmire?

Posted on March 22, 2009 by Santi Tafarella

So suggests Spiegel today: Afghanistan is on the brink of chaos: That is the stark message from local leaders, the US military and development workers in the troubled country. The elected government, they warn, can no longer compete with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Historic Document on Torture: Captain Ian Fishback’s Letter to John McCain, September 16, 2005

Posted on December 21, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

Ian Fishback risked his career trying to get answers to the torture question. Andrew Sullivan calls Fishback’s letter, in 2005, a historic document, and thinks that Fishback should be TIME’s “Man of the Year.” Here’s Fishback’s letter: Dear Senator McCain: … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Afghan-Pakistan War: Nelson Fraser of The Spectator Writes of the Expanding War that Dare Not Speak Its Name

Posted on September 16, 2008 by Santi Tafarella

Pakistan has just switched up leaders, and has nuclear weapons, so nobody much wants to talk about it, but the War on Terror is fast expanding from Afghanistan into Pakistani territory. Nelson Fraser of The Spectator wrote an important article on this … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment