The Taliban

The NATO summit: NATO’s risky Afghan endgame

A timetable for winding down the war leaves more questions than answers(3)

Afghanistan and the United States: Agreement, at last

A long-awaited deal, though thin on detail, is welcomed in a vulnerable country(73)

Afghanistan's opium crop: Everywhere coming up poppies

Regional initiatives have succeeded only in relocating the drug production(20)

American-Afghan relations: Over to you

Growing Afghan responsibility for the war serves a wider purpose(9)

Afghanistan: One battle the terrorists won

Whether you were with America or against America, you probably cannot come to America(110)

Afghanistan: Mission crumble

Two new setbacks to NATO’s war in Afghanistan(84)

Afghanistan: The lowered bar still looks high

A random massacre knocks even more confidence in the Western strategy(59)

Afghanistan’s fading hopes: All the wrong messages

Expediency and parsimony will undermine the modest aims of the Afghan strategy(117)

Afghanistan: The horror

Western soldiers are making the Taliban's job easy(619)

Anwar Kamal

Anwar Kamal Khan Marwat, Pakistani politician and tribal leader, died on February 13th, aged 64(28)

Qatar’s ruler: Flying-carpet diplomacy

The emir of a small Gulf peninsula is here, there and everywhere(16)

Perilous journey

Pakistan has a lot going for it, but optimism about its future is nevertheless hard to sustain, says Simon Long(182)

Afghanistan: Too close for comfort

In the war in Afghanistan it is not always obvious which side Pakistan is on(80)

America’s retreat from Afghanistan: The spectre of comparisons

Attempts to accelerate the drawdown of Western troops in Afghanistan are tempting but misguided(27)

America in Afghanistan: Outta here

After a decade in Afghanistan, the United States rushes for the exit(168)

Politics this week

Jonathan Keith “Jack” Idema

Jonathan Keith “Jack” Idema, American fortune hunter and confidence trickster, died on January 21st, aged 55(19)

Pakistan's security state: Reading the Taliban

Interviews with Taliban prisoners paint a picture of a resilient insurgency controlled and nurtured by Pakistan(135)

Politics this week

Afghanistan: Dial 1 to speak to the Taliban

The meaning of the Taliban's office in Qatar(61)

Afghanistan: What comes next

Afghanistan gets a rotten press in the West but the outlook is not all bad, particularly if the country’s security forces, shown above, do what is hoped(33)

Pakistan and America: Till deaths us do part

NATO's deadly strike on an outpost of the Pakistani army brings their difficult relationship a step closer to rupture(459)

Banyan: Seeing and believing

As foreign forces draw down, Afghans need to know the foreign commitment does not(52)