Search results

"This volume explores the way governments endeavoured to build and maintain public support for the war in Afghanistan, combining new insights on the effects of strategic narratives with an exhaustive series of case studies. In contemporary wars, with public opinion impacting heavily on outcomes, strategic narratives provide a grid for interpreting the why, what and how of the conflict. This book asks how public support for the deployment of military troops to Afghanistan was garnered, sustained or lost in thirteen contributing nations. Public attitudes in the US, Canada, Australia and Europe towards the use of military force were greatly shaped by the cohesiveness and content of the strategic narratives employed by national policy-makers. Assessing the ability of countries to craft a successful strategic narrative, the book addresses the following key areas: 1) how governments employ strategic narratives to gain public support; 2) how strategic narratives develop during the course of the conflict; 3) how these narratives are disseminated, framed and perceived through various media outlets; 4) how domestic audiences respond to strategic narratives; 5) how this interplay is conditioned by both events on the ground, in Afghanistan, and by structural elements of the domestic political systems.This book will be of much interest to students of international intervention, foreign policy, political communication, international security, strategic studies and IR in general"--Provided by publisher.

Introduction : The unholy trinity --. - War is declared --. - OEF --. - The air war --. - OEF --. - Liberation of Kabul --. - OEF --. - The Battle for Tora Bora --. - NATO takes charge --. - "Terry' Taliban --. - The IED War --. - Tour of duty --. - UOR --. - THe Jackal --. - Shouldering the burden

When AnnaMaria Cardinalli's explosive United States military report on the topic of sexuality in southern Afghanistan was leaked to mainstream American media, it generated a firestorm of attention and reaction. While some of the findings regarding Afghan sexual practices are simply of cultural interest, other findings raise grave humanitarian issues, such as the cyclical abuse of young boys, perpetuated over countless generations.In Crossing the Wire, Cardinalli invites readers to share her rare experiences working on the farthest front of the War on Terror as a female member of one of the Pen

Pakistan had supported the Taliban until September 11 2001, which had gradually alienated the whole region surrounding Pakistan and Afghanistan. After September 11 2001, US-led international military action brought a change in Afghanistan that brought to power forces inimical to Pakistan and supported by the rest of the countries of the region. Pakistan minimized the loss it felt by withdrawing support for the Taliban in the wake of 9/11 and becoming an ally in the `War against Terrorism', with the result that the USA has played a role in stopping the total regional isolation of Pakistan. Pakistan's support for the War on Terror has encouraged a peace process between India and Pakistan. But for Pakistan's decision to realign itself, the regional geopolitical map would have been totally different.

Canada's involvement in Afghanistan is the longest martial conflict in its history precipitated literally overnight by a world changing event in the 2001 9/11 attack in New York City. In 2010, the Afghan 'Mission' remains front page news for Canadian, even threatening to undermine the Federal Government due to the so-called 'Detainee Scandal'. The human cost (Canadian and Afghan), financial burdens and impact on the self-perception of Canadians as a peace keeping 'Middle-Power' are immense

The nature of the Atlantic beast -- A benevolent alliance -- NATO and Afghanistan -- Original sins : a benevolent alliance goes to war, 2001-2005 -- Crisis and comeback : confronting the insurgency, 2006-2008 -- The reckoning : searching for a strategic purpose, 2008-2011

Introduction: creating a reign of terror -- Inherently imprecise killings: civilian victims in U.S. drone strikes in Afghanistan and Pakistan -- Death comes at night: civilian victims in U.S. kill-or-capture missions in Afghanistan -- The war on due process: civilian vicims of the U.S. arbitrary detention program in Afghanistan -- Systemic torture, the new normal: civilian victims of "enhanced interrogation techniques" in Afhan detention facilities -- In militias we trust: civilian victims of targeted killings by pro-government armed groups in Afghanistan -- The "white detainees": civilian victims of arbitrary detentions in Pakistan -- The "disappeared": civilian victims of enforced disappearances in Pakistan -- Death sentences on Twitter: civilian victims of secret military courts in Pakistan -- The reverse exodus: the forced repatriation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan -- Eliminating "pernicious individuals": civilian victims of the Afghan Taliban's targeted killing program -- Executions, amputations, and lashings: civilian victims of the Afghan Taliban's parallel justice system -- Taking "civilian criminals" as hostages: civilian victims of abductions by the Afghan Taliban.