Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: November 2009

9 December, Washington: 2009 Jamestown Terrorism Conference

AAN • admin •

AAN’s Thomas Ruttig will be on a panel of the 2009 Jamestown Terrorism conference (‘The Changing Strategic Gravity of Al-Qaeda’). He will speak about ‘Major Actors and Leadership in the Taliban Insurgency’. Find all details on the conference on Jamestown’s website here.

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3 December: New publication ‘Afghanistan, 1979-2009′

AAN • admin •

The Middle East Institute (MEI) of the American University in Washington DC launched another of its special editions of its publication ‘Viewpoints’, titled ‘Afghanistan, 1979-2009; In the Grip of Conflict’. This volume is a compilation of short analytical essays intended to be accessible to specialists and non-specialists alike. The essays are authored by 53 Afghan […]

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Militia Sightings

Thomas Ruttig •

Some see ‘hopes of a large-scale tribal rebellion against the Taliban’ But how spontaneously did the new militias really emerge? Here are some reports on the new militias found in the international media (further contributions welcome). Miralam Khan is the new hero of Kunduz. […] Many are convinced that the former mujahedin commander has single-handedly […]

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Ghosts of Najibullah

Thomas Ruttig •

With President Obama’s release of the new Afghanistan strategy ahead on Tuesday and first details coming out, parts of the puzzle fall into place. As it looks it will be less than the US 40,000 troops desired by Gen Mc Chrystal that will be sent to Afghanistan – probably some 30,000. The gap is to […]

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A meaningful Afghanistan conference needs civil society involvement

Thomas Ruttig •

It apparently has been decided that the next international Afghanistan conference is to be held on 28 January in London. It might be followed by a second one in spring – perhaps March or April – in Kabul. But the latter is far from clear. The UK – with the Prime Minister under immense pressure […]

International Engagement Read more

Kabul Diary (2): A Ring of Steel Sheets

Thomas Ruttig •

Finally, the long expected rain is falling in Kabul. But what’s good for next year’s crops makes life miserable for people in the cities. And for the first time, there were hours-long complete traffic break-downs in Kabul yesterday and today afternoon. Although President Obama today announced that he plans ‘to finish the job’ in Afghanistan […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

A Suicide Attack in Uruzgan (UPDATED)

Thomas Ruttig •

13 people killed by a suicide bomber. But who did it? Finding out what really is behind incidents like this one is extremely difficult. Facts are rare, versions and opinions, however, ample to find. While a suicide attack in a bazaar in Western Farah province on 20 November that claimed at least 16 lives made […]

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Militias – The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’s Genies (2): A Look Forward

Thomas Ruttig •

The case of Abdul Razeq’s police-unit-cum-militia (see our recent blog ‘Militias 1’) should send a stark warning to those planning envisaging a new version of ‘community-based’ defence forces. It is not clear yet how this exactly will look like but it seems to be sure that it will come. A few titles, names and concepts […]

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Corruption, corruption, corruption

Martine van Bijlert •

Karzai’s international backers have made no secret of what their priorities for his new administration were: transfer of security responsibilities, reconciliation, economic development, relations with the neighbours, and corruption, corruption, corruption. They were well served by Karzai’s inaugural speech: everything was included – reason for a (small) collective sigh of relief. Another potential confrontation, with […]

International Engagement Read more

24 November 2009, Berlin: Afghanistan conference of German NGOs

AAN • admin •

“Mission impossible in the Hindukush? Taking stock of international Afghanistan policies” – a conference organised by VENRO, the umbrella of German developmental NGOs. AAN’s Martine van Bijlert will be one of the presenters. The security situation of Afghanistan’s population has drastically deteriorated over the past years – despite the international communities engagement. Aid workers have increasingly become targets […]

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Surveyed: The Cost of War

Thomas Ruttig •

The war-destroyed Dar-ul-Aman palace in the South of Kabul was the perfect venue for the presentation of the report ‘The Cost of War’ to the Afghan and international public. The palace, designed to house the first Afghan parliament established under King Amanullah (ruled 1919-29), never served its aim. Amanullah was toppled by a mulla-led and […]

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AAN Guest Blog: Influenza politica

Christopher Reuter •

The following blog about a government-made swine flu hysteria is provided by CHRISTOPH REUTER, a reporter with ‘Stern’ magazine in Germany who is currently in Kabul. On 28 October, Afghanistan‘s Minister of Public Health issued a press release that did not receive much attention: Currently there were 58 cases of H1N1, better known as swine […]

Political Landscape Read more

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