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Dates (And Their Defence) « Afghan Outsider
https://afghanoutsider.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/dates-and-their-defence
An Outsider's Insight Into Afghanistan. Dates (And Their Defence). This history is fascinating, and I enjoyed writing about it. It’s vital for context. It’s vital for context. I am aware that I wrote that twice. Here it is again: History is vital for context. And context is king. So I wrote a history of Afghanistan in 8,000 (ish) words so that the ten years or so I’ve chosen to talk about make more sense. The dates I’ve picked are October 2001 – July 2011. 8230; I’m working on models of internation...
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Afghan Outsider « An Outsider's Insight Into Afghanistan « Page 2
https://afghanoutsider.wordpress.com/page/2
An Outsider's Insight Into Afghanistan. Newer posts →. I’m reasonably ashamed to admit that most Sundays I buy a copy of the. A conservative British newspaper, only slightly less right wing than the. Although I only buy it for the general knowledge crossword (if anyone can suggest a less inflammatory newspaper from which I might procure an hour or so of entertainment on a Sunday morning, I’d be grateful) I had a flick through the paper itself. There was a cartoon that made me chuckle. I was in a seminar ...
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To Be, Or Not To Be – A Question of Identity « Afghan Outsider
https://afghanoutsider.wordpress.com/2011/06/16/to-be-or-not-to-be-a-question-of-identity
An Outsider's Insight Into Afghanistan. To Be, Or Not To Be – A Question of Identity. I just got back from a talk by a PhD student at Swansea University. She was talking on the subject of Uighurs (pronounced wee-gers—finally I learn how to pronounce it! And their subjugation in China. They are not officially acknowledged by the Chinese government. (Although the People’s Republic of China (PRC) does not recognize ethnicity, as a rule.). As opposed to what they are. The Uighur have little to draw on in ter...
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Organizational Structures (M-Form and U-Form) « Afghan Outsider
https://afghanoutsider.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/organizational-structures-m-form-and-u-form
An Outsider's Insight Into Afghanistan. Organizational Structures (M-Form and U-Form). Yesterday morning (still working on being actually efficient) I read about organizational structures in the context of insurgencies. (Hat tip to Sam. For providing me with some papers on the subject.) I first got wind of scholarship on the interaction between organizational theory and insurgency from Seth Jones. In the Graveyard of Empires. In the book, Jones. Describes al-Qaeda as a ‘complex adaptive network’ (Jones,.
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Petraeus is the New King of CIA « Afghan Outsider
https://afghanoutsider.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/petraeus-is-the-new-king-of-cia
An Outsider's Insight Into Afghanistan. Petraeus is the New King of CIA. I’m loathe to make predictions about the future, but one that I might stick my neck out for is to suggest that the CIA might change quite significantly with General Petraeus at the helm. Stephen Walt. Might not think so, but where are we if we can’t disagree once in a while. They have word for it. They call it “blowback”. It nicely euphemizes the situations they create. During that conflict, the CIA (tacitly) condoned the. Ultimatel...
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Phase 2 « Afghan Outsider
https://afghanoutsider.wordpress.com/2011/03/29/phase-2
An Outsider's Insight Into Afghanistan. So, yesterday the first chapter of the dissertation was ‘approved’ by my supervisor. A cursory history of Afghanistan. And I can safely say, what a basketcase. (Afghanistan, not me… Well, maybe not.). It’s never really been ‘stable’. No one really knows when it all started. (Most people are all about 1747, but Louis Dupree reckons 1880.) I’m inclined to disagree with Dupree, even though his book. I really want to meet a Marco Polo sheep. Onwards, Ever Onwards.
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Here We Go Again « Afghan Outsider
https://afghanoutsider.wordpress.com/2012/02/25/here-we-go-again
An Outsider's Insight Into Afghanistan. Here We Go Again. For instance, yesterday, I was reading about veils. (Part of my thesis is concerned with appreciating cultural differences.) And I learned something fascinating from Aisha Lee Fox Shaheed’s. Chapter Dress Codes and Modes. Certainly there are exceptions to this, but it is by no means the rule. Take for example, the online journalzine,. Personally, I’ve been subscribing to and reading this journal since its inception. In the latest issue, the ed...
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In Which I Take a First Stab at Explaining Cultural Relativity « Afghan Outsider
https://afghanoutsider.wordpress.com/2012/05/05/in-which-i-take-a-first-stab-at-explaining-cultural-relativity
An Outsider's Insight Into Afghanistan. In Which I Take a First Stab at Explaining Cultural Relativity. The inspiration for this post came from an NPR story. It’s a deadly Catch-22. If they let the girl return to her family, she will most likely be killed. If she stays on the base, what little local support the Americans in the area have gathered in the years they have been there. The point that Quil and Shafi raise is, in a counterinsurgency environment:. This is where the story in Afghanistan often end...