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Afghanistan

When war history is written through American lenses

HISTORY: Reading this book is at times almost like watching one of those Hollywood war movies that were so popular a few years ago.
Stefano di Lorenzo -

"We fight against human animals and we act accordingly."

MIDDLE EAST: Robert Fisk reflects on the normalization of warfare and the Israelis' contempt for international law. He also looks at his own role as a referent from bloodbaths and massacres, at his stories from mass graves, from torture and executions for almost half a century.
Odd Karsten Tveit -

Samangan province has 438 inhabitants, spread over 000 communities that are without water, electricity or mobile coverage

AFGHANISTAN: We bring here Francesca Borri's reportage from Dara-i-Suf in Afghanistan – a land of families and alliances of families.
Francesca Borri -

"You can end up with the only peace being the graveyard peace."

MODERN TIMES CONVERSATIONS: We talk to the former Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, the man who could have become Prime Minister of Great Britain, about current issues – such as military rearmament, Ukraine, Israel, climate justice and work, security, democracy, citizens' councils, and not least a hope for the future.
Truls Lie -

"I don't think a single military conflict can solve a problem."

THE MODERN TIMES INTERVIEW: Elisabeth Hoff, WHO's representative in Libya today, wondered why Norway got involved and dropped 700 bombs on Libya in 2011: "It makes no sense at all." For 30 years, Hoff has tried to save lives in war zones such as Afghanistan, Syria and Libya. How can a human endure so much suffering?
Truls Lie -

The Taliban – one year on

Herat: What does Afghanistan's Herat look like one year after the Taliban took over? Herat is the example of what Afghanistan could look like – as the city has 780 places on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This report gives a look from both the 1970s and today.
Francesca Borri -

A trap of neutrality

SYRIA: Carsten Wieland uncovers a large number of mistakes in the Western donor countries' handling of the humanitarian crisis during the Syrian civil war. He also mentions how rebel forces have deliberately starved local people to attract aid: Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Rwanda.
Hans Henrik Fafner -

Two girls with clasped hands stare expressionlessly at the ground

AFGHANISTAN: Sangin – during twenty years of war, this area has been the bloodiest battlefield. It is reminiscent of Roman ruins. In 2001, one in three Afghans was starving – now one in two is starving.
Francesca Borri -

A gigantic loss project

THE DISCLOSURES: For 20 years, US authorities lied about the war in Afghanistan.
Ranveig Eckhoff -

The military-industrial complex

MODERN TIMES CONVERSATIONS: From someone who should know the intricacies of foreign policy and geopolitics: Thorbjørn Jagland on military rearmament and enemy images – when it comes to the USA, Russia, China, Turkey and Libya.
Truls Lie -

Banished and imprisoned for his books

ESSAY: In addition to the world's whistleblowers, a number of writers have suffered because of what they have revealed. Jan Tystad deals with some of them here.
Jan Tystad -

Silently disciplining research

PRIORITIES: Many who question the legitimacy of the US wars seem to be pressured by research and media institutions. An example here is the Institute for Peace Research (PRIO), which has had researchers who have historically been critical of any war of aggression – who have hardly belonged to the close friends of nuclear weapons.
Ola Tunander -

"I do not see beauty in war, but there is beauty in everything"

THE PHOTOGRAPHER: Beauty, suffering, wealth, poverty, superficiality and raped children are different sides of the same coin, says photographer Marco Di Lauro, who spent a week with the Red Cross in Bergamo during the covid-19 outbreak.
Thierry Vissol -

The document that started the war in 2001

United States / Militarization: Niels Harrit points out in this article that the participation of European countries in the attack on Afghanistan in 2001 was illegal – according to the UN Treaty. Were a number of countries tricked into the "war on terror"?
Niels Harris -

Brave soldiers and lost system criticism

cinema Relevant The Outpost confirms the turn American war films have taken from system criticism of the hero cult.
Aleksander Huser -

Everyday life in Kabul

AFGHANISTAN: In the capital, Kabul, which only gets international attention when suicide bombers attack, director Aboozar Amini is a fly on the wall in the lives of ordinary people.
Nick Holdsworth -
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Rich full-format MODERN TIMES including the supplement Orientering and Modern Times Review comes out quarterly in early March, June, September and December) with international book reviews (non-fiction) and comments / essays. According to the physical newspaper (and PDF), the articles are published regularly online (see the newsletters).

© MODERN TIMES & Orientering AS. PO Box 3113 Elisenberg, 0207 Oslo. Chief editor: Truls Lie

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