Central Asia
Civilian death toll soaring in Afghanistan
By James Cogan, August 3, 2009
A report issued late last month by the Human Rights Unit of the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) sheds light on the rising number of innocent Afghan men, women and children who...
Violence increases in Russia’s Caucasus republics
By Niall Green, July 31, 2009
A recent spike in violence between Russian security forces and local militants indicates that Moscow has no plans to loosen its military grip in the North Caucasus.
Afghan insurgents hold US soldier
By David Walsh, July 22, 2009
Within the wider tragedy of the brutal US occupation of Afghanistan, the fate of Private Bowe Bergdahl has its own tragic dimension.
July casualties highest of Afghan war
By James Cogan, July 22, 2009
The number of US/NATO deaths in July has already reached 58—the highest monthly toll since the invasion in October 2001.
Britain: Spike in casualties used to push for more troops in Afghanistan
By Julie Hyland, July 20, 2009
A concerted campaign is underway to manufacture popular support for stepped-up British participation in the US-led surge in Afghanistan.
Journalist critical of government killed in Chechnya
By Niall Green, July 18, 2009
Human rights activist Natalia Estemirova, a prominent critic of the pro-Kremlin government in Chechnya, was abducted and shot Wednesday while investigating alleged abuses by government-backed militias...
US commander in Afghanistan lobbies for more troops
By James Cogan, July 14, 2009
Less than six months after Barack Obama ordered 21,000 additional American soldiers to Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, the newly-appointed US commander, has launched a lobbying drive for more...
Turkish unions agree to sell-out contract for public workers
By Sinan Ikinci, July 10, 2009
The Turkish trade unions have played a crucial role in the decline in living standards experienced by workers during the past 15 years.
Letters on Iran, Afghanistan and the “left”
July 9, 2009
A selection or recent letters sent to the World Socialist Web Site on Iran, Afghanistan, and the “left.”
Two days of US drone attacks kill nearly 80 in Pakistan
By Barry Grey, July 9, 2009
The United States fired multiple missiles from pilotless drones on Wednesday in two separate attacks on insurgents in Pakistan’s South Waziristan district, killing up to 60 people.
Limited concessions and unresolved tensions after US-Russia summit
By Niall Green, July 8, 2009
The US-Russia summit marked an attempt to improve relations between the two countries, but did not resolve any of the fundamental differences between them.
Afghan deaths, troop casualties soar in first days of new US offensive
By James Cogan, July 7, 2009
The first days of the offensive by US marines into the southern province of Helmand make clear it will result in a massive escalation in violence against the Afghan people.
