FROM THE ARCHIVES

One Year Ago — October 10, 2010

‘Tea Party’ Sentiment Goes Global

Top candidate of the right-wing Freedom Party (FPOE) for the local elections in Vienna, Heinz-Christian Strache, celebrates in Vienna, Austria, on Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010. (Photo credit: Ronald Zak / AP)

One year ago today, I reported that – paralleling the political trend in the United States with its Tea Party movement – the far-right in Austria resurged in local elections in the capital city of Vienna, securing the largest gains following a campaign laced with anti-Islamic rhetoric.

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Two Years Ago — October 10, 2009

Foreign Fighter Floodgates Open in Afghanistan

Men claiming to be Taliban fighters pose for a news photographer on Aug. 19, 2009 at an undisclosed location in Afghanistan. (Photo credit: Reuters)

Two years ago today, on October 10, 2009, I reported that Afghanistan’s defense minister, calling for more international troops, said thousands of foreign fighters were pouring into Afghanistan to bolster the Taliban insurgency.

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Three Years Ago — October 10, 2008

Afghanistan in ‘Downward Spiral’

Police officers and firefighters work at the scene of a suicide attack on the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture in Kabul, on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008. (Photo credit: Omar Sobhani / Reuters)

Three years ago today, on October 10, 2008, I reported that a pending National Intelligence Estimate would conclude that Afghanistan was in a downward spiral and that U.S. intelligence agencies doubted that the Kabul government had the ability to stem the rise of the Taliban, citing widespread corruption inside President Hamid Karzai’s government, an increase in attacks by militants operating out of Pakistan, and a general breakdown of central government authority in Afghanistan.