Operation Jawbreaker: The Day IRGC-Quds Force and U.S. Special Forces Fought on Same Side

Iran assisted U.S. militarily following 9/11, but after Israel derailed Iran-U.S. rapprochement, IRGC’s roles in liberating Afghanistan were concealed by U.S.

Iran-Israel War | Expulsion of Afghans from Iran

Hundreds of Afghans arrested for aiding Israel; suspected Mossad ties to Ahmad Massoud’s “National Resistance Front”; “Westoxified” (gharbzadegi) Afghan diaspora hates Shia Iran but expects Tehran to host Afghan refugees; ca. 250,000 Afghans deported in June 2025.

CIA’s Hunt for bin Laden

Netflix’s recent documentary, “American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden,” features CIA and National Security players from that era who inadvertently expose CIA’s institutional incompetence. As one Congressman said “the truth is we have an intelligence network that is so dumb they could throw themselves at the ground and miss.” Clips and comments in the post.

Afghan Follies

Installation of a new administration should be occasion for evaluation of foreign policy and for adjustments, but Marco Rubio’s statements about the Taliban portend enhanced misery for 42 million Afghans suffering under the Islamic Emirate. Influence of Afghan émigré groups, viz., “National Resistance Front,” will prevent the Trump Administration from forging a diplomatic path to Kabul that enhances U.S. National Security.

IRGC and the “Death” of CIA’s “Ayatollah Mike”

On 3 January 2020, Trump assassinated Haji Qasem Soleimani. On 27 January 2020, the chief of CIA’s “Iran Mission,” Michael D’Andrea, “died” when his USAF Bombardier E-11A jet was downed in Afghanistan. Did he die? CIA claims he was “forced” to retire. Was the jet destroyed by IRGC?

The Alexander Trilogy by Mary Renault

Mary Renault is justly lauded as a groundbreaking LGBT authoress, but this detracts from her brilliance as a historian of ancient Greece and Persia. She methodically weaves history, geography, and Greek literature with fiction to depict the life of Alexander the Great: his childhood, love for Hephaistion, Philip’s court, tempestuous relationship with mum, Olympias, rise to power, and conquest of Asia. Renault’s books, which I started reading as a twelve-year-old, shaped my life, and developed in me, inter alia, a passion for Iran. The essay is part literary criticism, part history, part travelogue. Renault inspired my travels in Iran.

Tamerlane and the Irascible Holy Man

Zayn al-Din Taybadi (d. 791/1389) is a captivating mystic of Mongol Iran. He was an irascible man, remembered by historians for his rudeness to Tamerlane (Temür; d. 807/1405). He in effect told Tamerlane (as New Yorkers like to say), to “take a long walk on a short pier.” This is the story.

Afghanistan Studies: Garbage-in, Garbage-out

Christian Bleuer has been maintaining the massive “Afghanistan Analyst Bibliography” since 2004. Bleuer just published the final edition (29 April 2024), accompanied by an essay titled, “The State of Research on Afghanistan: Too many poor quality publications and some real gems.” Links included at post.

Fortifications of the Islamic World: Herat’s ‘Kartid Wall’

Pre-modern cities of the Islamic World often had a perimeter wall to protect the city’s suburbs from predators seeking to plunder the city and seize men, women, and children to be used as slaves or sold in slave markets. Herat, Iran (now part of Afghanistan), had such a perimeter wall

A Note on Pathans (Pashtuns or Afghans)

Note on the term ‘Afghan’ as an ethnonym and ‘Afghanistan’ as a toponym based on pre-modern histories and geographies.