> Afghanistan

Glossary: Pashtun, or Pakhtun
A definiteion of Pashtun, or Pakhtun, the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan.

Glossary: Loya Jirga
Definition of Loya Jirga, or "grand assembly," a century-old, consensus-building Afghan tradition.

"The Kite Runner" Controversy: As Afghanistan Retreats into Chaos
Afghanistan has been retreating back into chaos and repression in 2006 and 2007. The decision to delay the release of 'The Kite Runner" illustrates to what extent the country's situation has become precarious.

Afghanistan: Country Profile
A profile of Afghanistan, the structure of its government since 2001, the challenges of its weak economy and infrastructure, the burden of a history of fracture and foreign occupations.

Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda
The life and aims of the world's most wanted terrorist: Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda's journey from Saudi Arabia to the Sudan to Afghanistan to the mountains of Western Pakistan.

Troop Deployments in Afghanistan: Facts, Successes and Failures
Breakdown of numbers, command structure, political ramifications.

U.S. and NATO Casualties in Afghanistan
A detailed tally and breakdown of American and NATO casualties in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Saving Afghanistan
The Taliban is resurgent, reconstruction is faltering, and opium poppy cultivation at an all-time high. Afghanistan is at risk of collapsing into chaos. Washington must increase its commitment to the area and rethink its strategy, argues Barnett R. Rubin in Foreign Affairs.

Stoning of Afghan Adulterers: Some Take Part, Others Just Watch
One of the seminal works of reporting from Afghanistan under the Taliban that earned John F. Burns a Pulitzer Prize in 1997. The article illustrates with brutal immediacy the character of Taliban rule.