Afghanistan, Facing So Many Challenges

Advantages: Scenic in parts. Rugged terrain
Disadvantages: Current military campaign. Political instability

...Just about the whole world has recently been inundated with news reports coming out of a country which was formerly largely ignored.Afghanistan, a land-lacked country in south-western Asia, covers an area of 652,225 km2, and almost 75% of the land is mountainous. The highest peak is Istora Nol at 24,458 feet a.s.l. The climate is best described as generally semi-arid steppe, with very wide regional variations; the climate varies distinctly between lowlands and highlands. In the mountainous north-east there are dry extremely cold winters with temperatures falling to as low as –14.8°F in the Hindu Kush. In the desert in the south-west, there is less than 3 inches of rainfall annually and summer temperatures can exceed 95°F in that area. The major cities and towns in Afghanistan include Kabul, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar...

ashford 15.10.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of General: Afghanistan

Afghanistan United States and mail

Advantages: none
Disadvantages: many

......

Rosie6349 08.11.2001 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of General: Afghanistan

Did we dig up Afghanistan to lay pipelines

Advantages: Pakistan and China gets a New pipeline attached to the Trans Caspian Pipeline
Disadvantages: The West gets increased terrorism

...In order to determine whether this military action was justified or not, I think we need to cover some previous background on this subject. The core issue for bombing Afghanistan was the search for Bin Laden in the post 911 era. Whether the Taliban was wicked or not, poor regimes are hardly rare in many countries in the region. Geopolitically speaking Russia had spent 20 years fighting its "Vietnam" in Afghanistan before pulling out, and since 1991 had reverted from Communism to Capitalism alongside China. Great efforts were made by the International Community to ensure that both Russia and China could be involved into the international Capital system, where they had previously not existed. One of those efforts was to have a pipeline built through Afghanistan by Unocal, GE Electric, Bechtel, Shell and BP. The pipeline was to...

Sbanshee 01.05.2003 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Was the military action in Afghanistan justified?

Inside Afghanistan

Advantages: Well written, colourful stories.
Disadvantages: It's authenticity has been questioned.

...accounts. Some parts of the book include tales in which she had no part, but in others she is an invisible observer. This works very well, although it can make some of the stories a bit deceptive. For example one of the chapters follows Sultans eldest son on a religious pilgrimage with three of his friends. I imagined that this story had been told to the author, but on referring to the foreword I realised that she had actually been present on the journey itself. Obviously her presence would have had an impact on their behaviour, so the authenticity of the book as an intimate portrayal of life in Afghanistan could be questioned to a certain degree. She tells us how the characters are thinking and feeling and again this unlikely to be truly authentic. Nonetheless she does give a vividly detailed account of the families experiences and the book is...

noodlebutty 24.04.2006 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of The Bookseller of Kabul - Asne Seierstad

War on Error

Advantages: No-one has cause me any harm yet
Disadvantages: War on Error - What is the price?

...on other nations equipment. Young officers are being deported out from the UK after being trained in the incredibly hot climates of Norwich UK, where tones of sand and mud huts along with old Gurkhas who look foreign, have embarked on a three week intense training program to get these youngsters into the front-line. When I say youngsters; the first item they will pack is their ?Mighty Mouse? PJ?s because Afghanistan gets cold at the dead of night ; many of them haven?t even stepped out of the UK by themselves to even try out the bars in Ibiza; or have even a passport with their own name on it. Yet we, well the government expect them to fight for Queen and country in the front-line, risking their young lives for a salary of 15K. ? I?m not sure if stupidity or its just desperation why these youngsters sign-up. The one major thunder-bolt which I...

1st2thebar 22.09.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Was the military action in Afghanistan justified?

Am I alone

Advantages: See Text
Disadvantages: See Text

...Nobody would be believed if they said they knew nothing about Afghanistan after the events of the last 6 weeks or so. I have never been to Afghanistan, I am very unlikely to ever go there, and I understand little about the rival factions that live there - what I do know, as a result of events since the 11th September, is that here is a country that has incurred far more than its fair share of suffering. I am going to write here, and no I am not going to get paid for it, so if you don't think the op is appropriate to the category, fine, just walk on by, otherwise read on, because I am beginning to think that either me, or a lot of other people are going completely nuts. Since 11th September, I have read stories of what was once a beautiful yet mountainous country that housed a liberal attitude towards women and practiced Moderate...

sue.51 16.11.2001 (17.11.2001) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of General: Afghanistan

A war in Afghanistan? What a flashback.

Advantages: Darkly hilarious. Gleefully naughty. A rollicking adventure.
Disadvantages: Do we root for the rapist hero? I hope not.

...Overview The supposedly 'found' memoirs of the fictitious Lt. Harry Flashman. An officer of the British army in the full bloom of its Victorian era pomp. This, the first in a long running series details the caddish Flashman's exploits in the disastrous Afghanistan campaign (...Now where have I heard that before) of the 19th Century. The narrative is told from the perspective of an elderly Flashman looking back upon a debauched but very eventful life, occasionally opining on subjects as they arise, in his own unique, highly un-PC style. Review Right off the bat its does not take long to come to the conclusion that 'Flashman' by George McDonald Frasier is not an altogether serious affair. It may well be that upon glancing at the front cover we find the protoganist standing proud in his natty British Army uniform, eyes twinkling...

thegoldencat 08.11.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of The Flashman Papers: Vol I - Flashman - George MacDonald Fraser

Salaam

Advantages: See the good the War on Terror has done
Disadvantages: Have AK47s pointed at your head

...Browsing the Sunday Times I came across an astonishing article. Apparently two UK travel agents are offering sightseeing tours to Afghanistan. They plan future trips to "Axis of Evil" countries - Iran, Iraq, North Korea. Can you imagine the tour bus. "And on your right there's the bombed-out anthrax factory and straight ahead is a land mine..."BOOM. Last year I went to Kabul to see how our soldiers were faring in the former stronghold of Osama bin Laden, the Taliban and Al Qaida. Not at the Bagram airfield nerve centre or in the mountains with the Marines, but in the capital with ISAF (International Security and Assistance Force) troops. Let me tell you Kabul is not a place to lie on a towel and soak up the rays. The Afghans are friendly but the ubiquitous AK47 is everywhere. And this week a suspected Al Qaida man was...

castlebinn 17.08.2002 (19.01.2006) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Kabul (Afghanistan)

Charlie Wilson's Fight for Afghanistan

Advantages: Great Acting, excellent story
Disadvantages: Some sad scenes of the Afghan suffering

...Charlie Wilson's War is a film which I had been undecided about for a few weeks so I finally took the plunge and bought it. I think the deciding factor was that it stared Tom Hanks and Julie Roberts, both of which I like. The film features Charlie Wilson, played by Tom Hanks who is a party loving Congress man. He is good friends with Joanne who is a rich Socialite, played by Julia Roberts. Joanne manages to talk Charlie into looking at the troubles in Afghanistan where they are being invaded by the Russians. Charlie goes and sees the troubles first hand and is shocked at what he finds. He does agree to help Joanne by getting the weapons and ammunition which they need to defend their country. To do this Charlie is helped by a CIA agent, Gust Avrakotos and soon finds he needs to persuade the Congress to give them large amounts of money...

sewbizzie 02.02.2009 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Charlie Wilson's War (DVD)

Zekistan or Afghanistan?

Advantages: A third perspective real-time strategy game! Not many of those about!
Disadvantages: The missions are like puzzles. Once you know how to 'do' them, they're done.

...an uncanny resemblance to Iraq/Afghanistan and even has an evil dictator for a ruler that only the Americans along with a coalition of NATO forces can remove. You can?t deny that the content of the game has more than a passing resemblance to recent events in real life, and since the games based on a training tool used by the US Army; it?s most likely the intention. When you first play the game, you?ll have to go through several tutorials. The training levels in most games are boring but FSW actually manages to have an entertaining training level where your soldiers use training gear and fire blanks for authenticity. This authenticity that runs through the game brings me to my next point. The game is VERY realistic and very unforgiving in places but actually manages to be low on frustration due to the excellent replay system where you watch...

xbeanx 29.09.2004 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Full Spectrum Warrior (Xbox)