afghanistan

July 07, 2023

The Taliban Exploit Islam to Protect Their Illegitimate Rule

Afghanistan, following the American withdrawal in 2021, has gained attention for several reasons, but the most prominent among them is the Taliban’s exploitation of Islam to suppress women and legitimize their illegitimate hold on power. Continue Reading...

May 26, 2023

Keep The Covenant on Your Moviegoing Radar This Memorial Day

This Memorial Day, there is one movie in theaters that addresses directly the experiences of veterans. While American families are entertained by the Super Mario Bros. movie, now a billion-dollar proposition worldwide, people who prefer more true-to-life action can see the movie I recommend, Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant, which has barely made any money, even though it’s an exciting, gripping experience, and it’s got a star, Jake Gyllenhaal. Continue Reading...

December 07, 2022

Withdrawing from Afghanistan: One Veteran’s Crisis of Command

On August 26, 2021, Stuart Scheller posted a video on LinkedIn and Facebook in which he strongly criticized senior U.S. military and civilian leaders for the embarrassing way in which the country had withdrawn forces from Afghanistan in the preceding days. Continue Reading...

March 07, 2022

Christianity is the world’s most persecuted religion, confirms new report

The group Open Doors USA figures that 360 million Christians last year lived in countries where persecution was “significant.” Roughly 5,600 Christians were murdered, more than 6,000 were detained or imprisoned, and another 4,000-plus were kidnapped. Continue Reading...

September 13, 2021

With the ‘new Taliban’ now in power, can we expect anything different?

The dramatic return of the Taliban to Kabul has consequences beyond the borders of Afghanistan. The Taliban are not the most popular group in Afghanistan but they certainly are the most feared, with enough force at their disposal to impose their dogmatic version of Islam over the country. Continue Reading...

September 02, 2021

Bombs, guns, and drones cannot win a spiritual war (UPDATED)

“[A]t 12 O’clock … our country gained its full independence, praise and gratitude be to God.” Who said it? An American revolutionary on Sept. 3, 1783, at the signing of the Treaty of Paris, perhaps? Continue Reading...

August 21, 2021

Afghanistan I fought for lacks foundation for freedom

I deployed to Afghanistan in 2010. Eleven years later, I watched the Taliban devastate all the progress we fought for. Afghanistan’s chaos and the Taliban’s return to power is heartbreaking and maddening. Continue Reading...

August 20, 2021

Welcoming the stranger: The dignity and promise of Afghan refugees

The Taliban has rapidly retaken Afghanistan, just weeks before the final withdrawal of U.S. troops. With the country bracing for another wave of oppression, thousands of Afghans have fled to the airport in Kabul, hoping to escape the return of sectarian violence and tyrannical rule. Continue Reading...

August 17, 2021

In Afghanistan, our war with truth concludes

The situation in Afghanistan deteriorated even further over the weekend, as the Taliban, driven from power twenty years ago, overtook the capital city of Kabul. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has now fled to Uzbekistan, claiming he wishes to avoid more bloodshed. Continue Reading...

May 01, 2015

Why Religious Liberty Should Be a Foreign Policy Priority

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has issued its 2015 annual report on religious liberty around the world. In their report, the USCIRF documents religious freedom abuses and violations in 33 countries and makes county-specific policy recommendations for U.S. Continue Reading...

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