The nature of war and its purpose remains unchanged. The change is in the character of war in terms of a man-machine mix, domination of sensors and certain automation of the tactics and methods of war, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
As Afghans head to the polling booths to elect a new president, a contested and fraud-marred elections could potentially throw Afghanistan into a renewed cycle of violence and instability, says Dr Shanthie Mariet D'Souza.
A Royal Air Force plane left Kabul airport on Saturday night and arrived at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, including with British ambassador to Afghanistan Sir Laurie Bristow who had been assisting the evacuation process.
Democratic Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi condemned Trump's reported habit of affecting an Indian accent to imitate Modi.
Joe Biden, seeking a second term in the White House, stumbled in his first televised presidential debate with his predecessor Donald Trump, setting off alarm bells among top Democrats about whether the incumbent President can stay atop in the gruelling months ahead of the elections.
Fresh from his maiden trip to Afghanistan, Democratic Congressman Ami Bera, the only Indian-American lawmaker in the Congress, has said that India has a very critical role to play in peace and development in the war-torn country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday directed officials to ensure safe evacuation of all Indian citizens from Afghanistan and to provide refuge to Sikhs and Hindus wanting to come to India from there, as he chaired a crucial high-level meeting in the backdrop of the Taliban takeover of the war-torn country, sources said.
There is danger of some militants entering Kashmir from Afghanistan after withdrawal of American troops from the war-torn nation, a senior army officer said on Wednesday.
William Dalrymple discusses with Arthur J Pais how the situation in Afghanistan is fast deteriorating.
Former NSA Brajesh Mishra told rediff.com, "One knew that the US was in Afghanistan to kill Osama. If they would get him, then their operation will be over. But, I believe the Taliban in Afghanistan is as dangerous as Osama's Al Qaeda. They are having a presence outside Afghanistan as well in Europe and even in the US."
Big test for India, Eng; minnows likely to shake applecart
"I don't think that we have seen any evidence of efforts by India to directly undermine Pakistani national security. This is something that the Pakistanis fear but I don't think that we should let US policy be driven by Pakistani fear," Lisa Curtis of the Heritage Foundation said in response to questions from lawmakers who raised Pakistani concerns in this regard.
The two sides are also expected to explore ways to deepen defence collaboration, including exercises, defence transfers and technologies ahead of the next edition of the 2+2 defence and foreign ministerial dialogue to be held in the US later this year, they said.
We should be prepared for a phase of increased tensions in India-Pakistan relationship thanks to the evolving situation in Afghanistan, says Shyam Saran.
New Delhi has reached out to Moscow while waiting for a new president in Washington. New Delhi knows well that in international relations, there are no permanent friends or foes, only permanent national interests, points out Dr Rup Narayan Das.
Afghan forces ended the assault after 10 hours of gunfire.
'Jaish looked to creating regional mayhem, at a time when peace appeared more likely, and when that peace would have threatened Jaish's existence.'
United States President Barack Obama on Monday made a surprise visit to Afghanistan to thank American troops and civilians for their service ahead of the final pullout of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation troops from the war-torn country.
'The danger today is that out of sheer fatigue and exasperation, the US might cut loose and exit from Afghanistan leaving it to the region to cope with the debris, which it is ill-equipped to handle,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday hours after President George Bush spoke at the same forum, he predicted the defeat of American and NATO alliance in Afghanistan and advised the next rulers of the United States to keep "their interference" in their own borders. The people of Afghanistan, he said, are victims of efforts by NATO member states to "dominate the regions surrounding India, China and South Asia."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Joe Biden are expected to deliberate on ways to bolster bilateral ties in trade, investment and defence and security in their in-person talks in Washington, DC, on September 24, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Tuesday.
'Afghanistan needs not to be abandoned, not to be forgotten,' says Afghan ambassador Masood Khalili.
The Wall Street Journal quotes General Stanley McChrystal, who is running America's ground war in Afghanistan, as predicting that US casualties will remain high for months to come, even as he plans to change strategy by increasing the number of troops in heavily populated areas like Kandahar, where the Taliban insurgency is at its strongest.
Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American, accused in the Times Square bombing plot, wanted to fight in Afghanistan, alarming his father, a retired Vice Marshal in PAF, who sought help from friends to "manage" his son, a leading American newspaper has reported.
'This award is funded by American money so I took this decision.'
American soldier Staff Sgt Robert Bales was on Friday formally charged with 17 counts of murder of civilians, including women and children, in a shooting rampage in Afghanistan.
'Islamabad receives billions in aid from the US but continues to harbour terrorists,' he said.
Foreign policy is always a work in progress and ups and downs are built into foreign policy process. What is permanent is national interest. Hopefully, this year, which will also witness general elections in the country, will also clear clouds in the foreign policy horizon, observes Rup Narayan Das.
The US President said that justice has been delivered.
'Obama's decision to end the US military involvement in the Afghan civil war needs to be welcomed as a positive development for regional security and stability. India, too, has a great opportunity opening up here if it plays its cards in sync with the spirit of the times rather than continuing to view the Afghan problem in zero-sum terms,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Taliban said the operation has been named after its deceased leader Mullah Omar.
The planned withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan will not lead to the collapse of the war-torn nation, a senior United States official has said.
"This spring, our forces will move into a support role, while Afghan security forces take the lead. Tonight, I can announce that over the next year, another 34,000 American troops will come home from Afghanistan," Obama said in his annual State of the Union Address to the Congress.
Rediff.com gives you a sneak peak into the life of the American soldiers battling in Afghanistan as efforts are made in Washington to end its longest foreign war.
Amid reports that the US has quietly approved an additional deployment of some 13,000 troops to Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday said more US troops are welcome in his country.
Bharat Kumar is the second Indian to be killed in two months by the Taliban.
Pakistan poses a 'bigger' security challenge than Afghanistan for the United States and the rest of the world, a top American diplomat has said. Christopher Dell, who currently runs the US embassy in Kabul, said Pakistani Taliban groups had formed a common front to attack North Atlantic Treaty Organisation troops in Afghanistan. "Pakistan is a bigger place, has a larger population, it's nuclear-armed. It has certainly made radical Islam a part of its political life," he said.
The United States has been secretly releasing high-level detainees from a military prison in Afghanistan for several years in a bold effort to initiate negotiations with the insurgent groups, but one that American officials acknowledge could prove to be a costly gamble. he Washington Post on Monday reported that the "strategic" release programme has quietly served as a live diplomatic channel, allowing American officials to use prisoners as bargaining chips.
Kicking-off the first phase of the American pullout from Afghanistan, the United States has started using Pakistani land routes to withdraw its military hardware from Afghanistan, with 50 shipping containers moved over the weekend.
Taliban carried out the most destructive single strike on US and NATO forces in nearly 11 years of war in Afghanistan by attacking a heavily fortified base damaging eight fighter aircraft on the ground, ringing alarm bells in Pentagon.
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