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MES In the News

 Insurgent Success In Afghanistan Is Mystifying

NPR, 20090922
The insurgency in Afghanistan is getting stronger. According to a leaked assessment of the war, Taliban-led insurgents either control or are fighting in a "significant portion of the country." It's hard to understand why because insurgent fighters are vastly outnumbered by U.S., NATO and Afghan security forces, and their technology is inferior.

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http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113052541

 1979: Recalling The Soviet Invasion Of Afghanistan

NPR, 20090819

As part of a series of conversations marking 1979 as a seminal year in the Muslim world, Afghan-born Amin Tarzi talks with Steve Inskeep about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Tarzi is director of Middle East studies at the Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia. He was 15 when the Soviets attacked the presidential palace in Kabul, which Tarzi witnessed from a short distance away.

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http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112014775

 Afghan War: 101

NPR, 20090529

Since Operation Enduring Freedom was launched in 2001, more than 600 United States service members have lost their lives in the country, and more than 1800 have been wounded. The Afghan war has been largely overshadowed since the U.S. invasion Iraq in March 2003. 

Amin Tarzi, a former Marine and current director of Middle East Studies at the Marine Corps University, explains the conflict, how the mission has changed and how long before the U.S. mission in Afghanistan will be complete.

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www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104479351

 Tarzi: Afghans Likely to be Disappointed at London Conference
 Afghanistan is not Vietnam

PRI’s THE WORLD, 20091007

To read the full story, click here:

http://www.theworld.org/2009/10/07/afghanistan-is-not-vietnam/

 "The Taliban and the Crisis of Afghanistan"

FPC Briefing, 20090602

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http://fpc.state.gov/124543.htm

 Resourcing an Afghan Strategy
CFR Interview, 20090928
To read the full story, click here: 
http://www.cfr.org/publication/20284/resourcing_an_afghan_strategy.html
 Ahmad Zahir: The Voice Of The Golden Years

NPR 20100201

Ahmad Zahir is the latest of NPR's 50 Great Voices, in which we're discovering influential singers around the world — living or dead, famous or not. The list includes Zahir, who's sometimes seen as Afghanistan's Elvis. His lifelong fans include a man who grew up with his music: Amin Tarzi. Tarzi, our guide to Zahir's life and music, is a U.S. citizen now, and teaches at the Marine Corps College. In the '70s, he was a boy growing up in Afghanistan.

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http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123137188

 Corruption Threatens U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan, Galbraith Says

ABC News.com 20100401 by Kristina Wong

"[F]ormer Ambassador Peter Galbraith, who stepped down last fall as U.N. deputy special representative to Afghanistan after alleging widespread election fraud in the Afghan national election, was not hopeful for the programs' success. At a recent lecture hosted by the Marine Corps University's Middle East Studies program, he pointed out at least three challenges to efforts to strengthen the rule of law in Afghanistan."

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http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Afghanistan/afghan-corruption-threatens-u...

 Afghanistan: The Way Forward

NPR WAMU 88.5 The Kojo Nnamdi Show 20101122

Dr. Amin Tarzi appeared as a guest on The Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU 88.5 FM. One year after a major policy review sent 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, the Obama administration and its allies are evaluating their success. While there have been measurable achievements on the ground, a looming 2011 deadline for withdrawing troops has cast a pall over strategy and Afghans' spirits. We discuss the way forward, and how the Middle East’s history can serve as a guide.

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http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2010-11-22/afghanistan-way-forward

 Al-Qaeda's effect weakens in Mideast

USA TODAY 20110504

Dr. Amin Tarzi was quoted in the USA TODAY story "Al-Qaeda's effect weakens in Mideast"

To read the full story, click here:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-05-03-alqaeda-terror-group-weake...

 Editorial: Karzai still meeting low expectations

Minneapolis Star Tribune 20101029

Dr. Amin Tarzi was quoted in the Minneapolis Star Tribune "Editorial: Karzai still meeting low expectations"

To read the full story, click here:

http://www.startribune.com/opinion/editorials/106346413.html

 "Iran's Moderates Used Nuclear Deal to Save the Revolution", Bloomberg View, 20150826

Bloomberg View, 20150826

Dr. Amin Tarzi was quoted by Eli Lake in "Iran's Moderates Used Nuclear Deal to Save the Revolution"

"Amin Tarzi, the director of Middle East studies at the Marine Corps University, told me there is political tension between Rouhani's supporters and the leaders of Iran's revolutionary guard corps, the organization responsible for supporting groups like Hezbollah. He said Iranian elites like Qassem Suleimani, the commander of Iran's Quds Force, "are trying to show we have long hands elsewhere and we can determine some things in the region.

All of this is important for the internal politics of Iran because different factions are now competing not only for the ear of Iran's supreme leader, but also control of the contracts and ventures that will flood into Iran from new investment after sanctions begin to ease.

But this competition between Iran's elites is not, according to Tarzi, a struggle between reform and revolution. "Rouhani is a patient thinker. And this makes him more dangerous. He sends Rosh Hashanah Twitter messages to Jews, but he has a more long-term and a determined outlook," he told me."

To read the full story, click here:

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-08-26/iran-s-moderates-used-n...