Widespread vote rigging, a beleaguered incumbent president and a mounting death toll because of NATO atrocities and the Taliban resurgence hamstring Afghanistan, writes Gamal Nkrumah

The Pentagon has made remarkable strides in militarisation of space this year, but its techno-schemes are built on the same sandy foundations as the rest of its defence policy, laments Eric Walberg

Left out of the options under consideration in "Obama's war" is the only one with any chance of success, argues Ramzy Baroud