Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: May 2011

Kill or Capture 3: When the International Military Says ‘Sorry’

Kate Clark •

President Karzai has said he will no longer allow NATO airstrikes on houses because they are causing too many civilian casualties. The president’s ultimatum follows the pictures shown on Afghan TV on 29 May of distraught villagers in Helmand carrying the bruised and dusty corpses of their small children who had been killed in an […]

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Kabul gold rush: western billions bear fruit in luxury property boom for Afghan capital

admin •

Daily Telegraph, 30 May 2011 ‘In Kabul, a series of luxury apartment blocks and even a skyscraper are planned for those who have made fortunes in the gold rush bought by Nato forces’, writes Ben Farmer and reports Alikozay and Azizi Bank’s forages into the building boom.

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The Killing Continues – the Taloqan attack (Updated)

Martine van Bijlert •

The impact of yesterday’s suicide attack in Takhar, which killed the police commander of the northern zone General Daud and six others, is wide ranging. The international security forces and those counting on a smooth transition have lost an important partner. The Jamiat-based networks have lost a battlefield commander. The (northern) youth have lost a […]

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Afghan army salary theft shows fraud widespread

admin •

AP, 28 May 2011 Article describes one of the very few cases of prosecuted corruption in the ANA: a relatively minor salary theft (USD 22,000) that however “occurred in one of the army’s elite commando units — using a system put in place precisely to prevent such fraud.”

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The Enteqal Seven (3): Lashkargah – Southern Poster Child for Transition

Jen Mackenzie •

The choice of Lashkargah as one of the first areas to be transferred into Afghan security responsibility was a surprise but can be explained: It is to give credence to the fulsome ISAF reports and certain sections of the media that peace, hope, and stability are just around the corner in this troubled corner of […]

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Afghanistan’s not-so-hermetic rural-urban divide

Thomas Ruttig •

Rural vs urban areas, traditionalists vs modernists, Kabul vs the mountains – these are only a few of many simplifications that are used to explain Afghanistan. Such simplifications are repeated so often that they affect political decision making, to the detriment of those Afghans who support reform, argues AAN Senior Analyst Thomas Ruttig. He advocates […]

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Walking the Kabul Wall, Looking into History

Kate Clark •

From the roof of one of the newest buildings in Kabul, the AAN office, you can see the oldest surviving, above-ground structure in the Afghan capital, the Kabul Wall. It snakes along the Sher Darwaza mountain, now green after the spring rains. AAN Senior Analyst, Kate Clark tells some stories from the Wall: of spring […]

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Kill or Capture 2: Another Takhar Night Raid Fans Ethnic Discontent

Kate Clark •

The repercussions of a night raid by US Special Forces and Afghan police, which left two men, a woman and a girl dead in Takhar a week ago (whether they were civilians or insurgents, depends on whose version of events you believe) are still being played out. The provincial council has gone on strike in […]

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Ghazni as Islamic Cultural Capital 2013 (updated)

Thalia Kennedy •

Ghazni has been chosen as the City of Islamic Culture for the Asian region for 2013. The city south of Kabul boasts a number of important pre-Islamic and Islamic sites but, due to the security situation, cannot be reached by foreign tourists currently. Our frequent guest blogger Thalia Kennedy(*) comments on the conundrums of such […]

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23 May 2011 NAF Report by Thomas Ruttig: Negotiating with the Taleban

AAN • admin •

The New America Foundation releases a much-delayed report by Thomas Ruttig: “Negotiations with the Taliban: History and Prospects for the Future”. The paper provides context and clarifies the language of the current debate; it weighs the various reported contacts between insurgents and the Afghan government; it describes the motivations of the main actors, discusses the […]

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Killing Civilians: Taleban and International Law

Kate Clark •

When the Taleban attacked the 400-bed military hospital in Kabul on 21 May 2011, they committed a gross violation of the international law that protects medical personnel during conflict. The Taleban spokesman heaped praise on those who attacked the hospital, even though, a few days earlier, he had been condemning the international military’s ‘crime against […]

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Negotiations with the Taliban: History and Prospects for the Future

Thomas Ruttig •

Thomas Ruttig, New America Foundation, 23 May 2011 This paper ‘Negotiations with the Taliban: History and Prospects for the Future’ authored for and published now by The New America Foundation provides a view – from a perspective before OBL’s death and reports that a direct US-Taleban link has been established with German assistance – at […]

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