Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: November 2010

‘Most Of The Stupid Taliban Are Dead’ – U.S. Official

admin •

NY Daily News, 5 November 2010 A range of opinions among the international military on the state of the insurgency: NATO spokeswoman claiming ‘low morale’, others stressing increasing tactical capabilites, but also a wider variety from ‘very competent to barely competent.’ With as closing statement: “If you ever underestimate this enemy, that’s the day they’ll […]

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English transcript of Hekmatyar TV interview

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ZDF, 5 November 2010 In this interview, Hekmaryar rejected any elections under President Karzai and says ‘We will only accept elections under Islamic rules and after we get freedom from all the occupational forces leave Afghanistan […]. All Islamic Afghan parties should have a consensus after this that they will not be a partner of […]

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Afghan Taliban threaten death to all talking peace

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AP, 5 November 2010 Hand-written ‘notes from Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar have surfaced in mosques all over Afghanistan’s ethnic Pashtun heartland, threatening death to anyone who takes up a government offer to negotiate for peace’, reports Kathy Gannon. She further quotes a former Taleban diplomat, now a member of the High peace Council in […]

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2010 Elections 30: Loose ends and entanglements

Martine van Bijlert •

As the basic data is still being released and clarified (or not), the IEC has found itself confronted with a series of awkward loose ends. This is being complicated by the rising pressure from candidates, the palace and, more recently, the Attorney General’s Office, as an increasing number of actors is being dragged into the […]

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Afghan government falters in Kandahar

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Washington Post, 3 November 2010 Joshua Partlow and Karen DeYoung report another governance desaster (after Marja): ‘Despite months of American prodding, the Afghan government has failed to fill dozens of key positions in Kandahar, leaving an ineffectual local administration that U.S. officials fear will cripple the battlefield progress the military says it is making in […]

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Herat’s decorative glass industry on the brink of collapse

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Pajhwok, 2 November 2010 The historic decorative glass industry in western Herat province is teetering on the brink of collapse due to lack of market, officials said on Tuesday.

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Another High Council, for ‘Our’ Youth

Thomas Ruttig •

After the big success of the High Peace Council, the sequel follows suit: After a two-day ‘General Assembly’ in the Loya Jirga tent in Kabul, a National Youth High Council has been formed. Reading its final press release, it sounds as if it has been organized by the Afghan government itself. Is it now claiming […]

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Afghanistan jet fuel deals generate thick fog of mystery

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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1 November 2010 This article originally from th Washington Post (but with a better headline here) describes how a 58-year-old Californian bar-and-burger owner turned his business, along with a young Kyrgyz partner, into a multinational jet fuel business that has received Pentagon contracts worth nearly $3 billion. Their companies, Mina Corp. and Red […]

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Splitting the Haqqanis with NATO Reconciliation Air?

Thomas Ruttig •

The initial big wave of reports about talks with the Taleban gathering speed and of a possible short-term ‘reconciliation’ have given way for a slower but steady trickle of spicy detail. A detail dropped here, some names there, mixed with half-denials like Richard Holbrooke’s ‘There is less than meets the eye’ line keep the shurwa(*) […]

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AAN In The Media – November 2010

AAN Team •

Afghan officials free top Taliban fighters Reuters, 30 November 2010 Afghan security forces and hig-ranking officials, including President Karzai, are freeing captured senior Taliban for payment or political motives, states this article. Reuters gives the case of GHulam Haidar, a leading insurgent commander from Kandahar. AAN’s Kate Clark adds that some Taleban are freed legally […]

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