Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: January 2011

The Unforgivable Horror of Village Razing

admin •

Registan blog, 12 January 2011 Joshua Foust comments on the US military’s ‘vllage razing’ tactics – but the most striking in it are the photos of one Afghan village ‘efore’ and ‘after’.

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Figure of the Day: US$ 100 m. (in destroyed orchards)

Thomas Ruttig •

An Afghan government delegation has reported that ‘Afghan and foreign forces have caused more than US$ 100 million damage to fruit crops and homes during security operations in southern Kandahar province’. AAN’s senior analyst Thomas Ruttig remembers an episode last summer. When a young Afghan visited our office last summer and told us about US […]

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Because the Night Belongs to Raiders: Special ops in Nangrahar

Fabrizio Foschini •

The first days of 2011 have already been dotted with reports of renewed night raids by US special forces turning lethal for civilians, as the ones in Ghazni and Kunduz apparently were. The resentment these operations stir up among Afghans countrywide seems likely to wipe out any possible military benefit deriving from them. The negative […]

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For a Handful of Dollars: Taleban allowed to join ALP

Kate Clark •

It’s official: reintegrated Taleban will be able to join the Afghan Local Police (ALP) – referred to more commonly by civilians as militias or arbaki. This is according to the head of ISAF’s Regional Command North (who also said such Taleban might become teachers). In flat contradiction, the MoI told AAN today that Taleban will […]

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Young Afghans Leaving in Droves

admin •

Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 7 January 2011 Afghan journalist Shahpoor Saber reports from Herat where young educated Afghans are leaving to make better lives for themselves abroad as they see no future for people like them in a deteriorating security climate.

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Crossfire in Kandahar

admin •

Columbia Journalism Review, January/February 2011 Excellent article by Vanessa Gezari on arrested journalists in Kandahar; the confusing mix of counter-insurgency, journalism, intelligence, story-telling and the “shifting layers of half- and quarter-truth” (“I was used to it. Afghanistan had schooled me in the limits of certainty”).

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Disappearing ink: Afghanistan’s sham democracy

admin •

Harper’s, 1 January 2011 The next one of Matt Aikins’ signature reportages, with an eye-witness report on the (non-) election in Nangrahar province and featuring – amonst others – Zalmay Khalilzad (who cannot remember a lot), Grant Kippen and Janan Mosazai – not fully on the web yet. The magazine’s print issue is already available.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011 – with the aqlak

AAN • admin •

With a little delay (well, the new Afghan year starts only in March and we’re all just back from our vacations) the AAN Management Board wishes all AAN members, contributors, readers as well as all its friends, partners and donors a happy and peaceful Sal-e Nau-e issawi. We are looking forward to a further fruitful […]

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AAN In The Media – January 2011

AAN Team •

Karzai’s Governing Strategy: A Threat to ISAF COIN Implementation Small Wars Journal, 31 January 2011 Article by James Sisco quotes several AAN blogs, including: As noted Afghanistan scholar Martine van Bijlert writes, In many ways, the list is a reiteration of the myths of the jehad, honouring those who made the emergence of the Taleban […]

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