View Is Bleaker Than Official Portrayal of War in Afghanistan

As the new American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David H. Petraeus, tries to reverse the lagging war effort, the WikiLeaks documents sketch a war hamstrung by an Afghan government, police force and army of questionable loyalty and competence, and by a Pakistani military that appears at best uncooperative and at worst to work from the shadows as an unspoken ally of the very insurgent forces the American-led coalition is trying to defeat.

Published: Jul 25, 2010
Length: 8 minutes (2,132 words)

A Fearless Activist in a Land of Thugs

Natalya Estemirova is gone now. Her executioners forced her into a car in front of her home in Chechnya and sped away with her on Wednesday morning. She managed to shout that she was being kidnapped, her last known words documenting the beginning of the crimes against her, just as she had documented crimes against uncountable others.

Published: Jul 17, 2009
Length: 4 minutes (1,168 words)