Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: August 2010

Ten Dead in Badakhshan 5: Condemnation from a Taleb: silence from the Palace

Kate Clark •

A north-eastern Taleban leader has been in touch with AAN to condemn the execution of unarmed aid workers in Badakhshan ten days ago. His statement reveals unease and disagreement within the leadership about this extreme act of violence. According to the Taleban’s own new code of conduct – a copy of which AAN has also […]

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Campaign Trail (4): Candidates and Campaigning

Gran Hewad •

At a time when two candidates for parliamentary elections have been killed, three kidnapped, at least ten issued with death threats and 48 excluded from the final list, the surviving candidates are campaigning hard. This is often a multi-goal struggle: to become a representative of the people, to get publicized via their candidacy, to be […]

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An Update on Voter Registration

Fabrizio Foschini •

Last Thursday, August 12, saw the conclusion of yet another stage on the road to the elections of 18 September. Making sure all those eligible to vote get their voter cards (and one card per voter only) is clearly a major part of any free and fair election. But in what has become something of […]

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In Kabul, a Service for Slain Aid Workers

admin •

New York Times blog, 13 August 2010 Rob Nordland reports from the memorial service for the murdered aid workers at the old British Cemetary in Kabul.

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A Wikileaks Leak and Human Rights Matters

Thomas Ruttig •

A series of emails sent to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange by human rights groups from or based in Afghanistan has been leaked to the media. The groups ‘called on the whistleblower website to expunge the names of Afghans mentioned in the war logs because of fears that they could be targeted by insurgents’. AAN’s co-director […]

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Ten Dead in Badakhshan 4: Afghan Reactions (UPDATED)

Kate Clark •

AAN has been asking for the memories and thoughts of some of the Afghans who knew the members of the eye camp team who were murdered in Badakhshan last week. Initially, we wanted to find out what they thought about the Taleban accusations that the team had been preaching Christianity, but it soon became clear […]

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Afghanistan Money Probe Hits Close to the President

admin •

Wall Street Journal, 12 August 2010 The raid on the New Ansari hawala: another story about links worth billions between the drug industry and government structures.

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Ten dead in Badakhshan 3: The Dubious Taleban Claim

Kate Clark •

The Taleban get in quickly with their claims and they get in dirty. Spy, whore, preacher – Taleban accusations stick, regardless of who they are aimed at, Afghan or foreigner, and regardless of the truth of the matter. In an Afghan context – and it seems, also, this week in an international one – such […]

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Ten Dead in Badakhshan (2)

Christopher Reuter • Michael Semple •

We follow up our reporting on the murder of ten aid workers on Thursday with two contributions from guest authors, Michael Semple and Christoph Reuter (1). They shed more light on three of the victims, Dan Terry, Daniela Beyer and Karen Woo; Michael additionally analyses the status of the insurgency in the area the killings […]

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Afghan Former Militants Rejoin Insurgency

admin •

IWPR, 8 August 2010 Afghan reporter Zia Ahmadi describes how former Taleban fighters who ‘joined the government’ in Herat defected back to the insurgents after Kabul failed to fulfill promises of work and development – which should serve as a warning for everybody too enthusiastic about ‘reintegration’..

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Ten Dead in Badakhshan (UPDATED)

Kate Clark •

Among the party of Afghans and foreigners returning from holding an eye camp for communities in Nuristan and murdered on their way back in Badakhshan were several known to many in AAN. We grieve with their families and friends. Read an obituary by our Senior Analyst Kate Clark (with updates at the end of the […]

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