Afghanistan Weekly Digest: The Politics and Pain of War | Sojourners

Afghanistan Weekly Digest: The Politics and Pain of War

[Editors' note: As part of Sojourners' campaign to end the war in Afghanistan, we will run a weekly Afghanistan news digest to educate our readers about the latest news and developments related to the war, the U.S. military's strategy, and the people impacted by our decisions. Read more about our campaign at www.sojo.net/afghanistan.]

  • 250,000 Afghans 'flee homes in two years': "More than 250,000 people have been displaced in the last two years of fighting in Afghanistan, and 'local police' programmes sponsored by NATO have exacerbated the problem by arming militias, according to a new report from Refugees International."
  • Legacy of mental health problems from Iraq and Afghanistan: "As Operation Enduring Freedom, the war on terror in Afghanistan, winds down and some 33,000 U.S. servicemen and servicewomen return from overseas in the next year, a plan announced by President Obama on June 22, the psychological issues that veterans face back home are likely to increase."
  • As Politics of war shift, risks for Obama ease: "When President Obama expanded the Afghanistan war a year after taking office, Republicans fiercely criticized his deadline to bring troops home. But his decision on Wednesday to accelerate their withdrawal came with few reprisals, a sign of a remarkable shift in the politics of war."

portrait-hannah-lytheHannah Lythe is policy and outreach associate at Sojourners.