Blog - Avada Freelancer

Reflections of a year on book tour

From New York to Los Angeles, Seattle to Phoenix, to the nation’s capital, I stood before Americans for the last year and told the story of Afghanistan’s drug trade, the story of its women, its drug lords, its heroes and criminals. I told my own story of an exile returning to my homeland, traveling in

Reflections of a year on book tour2025-04-21T13:04:43+00:00

Why I voted for Obama

Obama’s foreign policy decisions do not impress me. But Obama’s foreign policy record is another blog. I didn’t vote for him because he’s bringing peace or resolution to the world. I voted for Obama because inside the US, he’s doing what must be done to heal the country. He’s trying to regulate the economy while

Why I voted for Obama2025-04-21T13:04:43+00:00

Response to critiques of ‘How Iran controls Afghanistan’

Afghans who read my article “How Iran controls Afghanistan” for Foxnews.com in January critiqued the piece, and the Hazaras took particular offense. I promised a response -- it took awhile due to health issues I’ve been struggling with, but here it is. My article is a short opinion piece focused on how Iran influences Afghanistan

Response to critiques of ‘How Iran controls Afghanistan’2025-04-21T13:04:43+00:00

The dangers of traveling through Afghanistan’s drug trail

For five years, I traveled on the bumpy roads of Afghanistan discovering the underworld of the illicit narcotics trade. I had many close calls with death, mostly having to do with bad drivers and bombed out highways, but I survived to write my book Opium Nation, just released by HarperPerennial. My biggest fear was not

The dangers of traveling through Afghanistan’s drug trail2025-04-21T13:04:43+00:00

Poop, projectile and poppies

I’m learning to manage a 3-year-old, an infant and a career -- a juggling act that women in the workplace have been practicing in the U.S. for the last 60 years. With my first book on the Afghan poppy trade about to launch, marketing is a full-time job. But my motherly duties come first. Just

Poop, projectile and poppies2025-04-21T13:04:43+00:00

Mr. President, please think before you speak

President Hamid Karzai has spoken up on Pakistan TV this week and I wish he hadn’t. It seems every time our torn Afghan president speaks, he contradicts a previous speech. “If fighting starts between Pakistan and the U.S., we are beside Pakistan,” Karzai responded to the question “what if … “ It was just a

Mr. President, please think before you speak2025-04-21T13:04:43+00:00

Why I prefer daughters to sons

In three weeks, I’m expecting my second daughter and I couldn’t be happier that it’s a girl again – a healthy baby I hope. When I did the ultrasound for my firstborn, I was in Kabul and the doctor who informed me that my child was a girl said it under his breath because most

Why I prefer daughters to sons2025-04-21T13:04:44+00:00

The UN attack in Mazar: who’s responsible?

The attack that has so far claimed the lives of 12 UN aid workers and guards, Afghan and foreign, in the northern city of Mazar begs the question of who can be held accountable for the killings beside the criminals who committed the act? The Florida pastor who swore to burn the Koran finally did

The UN attack in Mazar: who’s responsible?2025-04-21T13:04:44+00:00

Can we actually prepare for a tsunami?

The American media has moved on from the news in Japan but across the ocean in California, we’re still listening and watching. As the rain pours with flood warnings, on most minds is “What if this happened here? Are we prepared?” The paranoid Californians are taking pills to alleviate radiation exposure. Most people I know

Can we actually prepare for a tsunami?2025-04-21T13:04:44+00:00

Mubarak steps down on a momentous day after 18 days of protest

I’m watching the jubilation on Al Jazeera Television on the laptop as they celebrate Hosni Mubarak’s resignation from the presidency, the end of three decades of a dictatorship that has left the majority of Egyptians disenfranchised. All I can think as I see the crowds in Tahrir Square lighting firecrackers and cheering in unison is

Mubarak steps down on a momentous day after 18 days of protest2025-04-21T13:04:44+00:00

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