Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: May 2011

10 May 2011: New AAN Report – The Takhar Attack

AAN • admin •

The targeted killing of Osama Bin Laden has given a boost to those in the US who believe this is also an effective strategy to defeat – or at least degrade – the Taleban in Afghanistan. This new AAN thematic report, by senior analyst Kate Clark, warns against this strategy, stressing that the legality of […]

Events Read more

The Enteqal Seven (2): Around Mehtarlam, an ‘insurgency corridor’ in the making

Fabrizio Foschini •

The start of the Taleban spring offensive is not stopping preparations that are on track for the announced transfer of security to Afghan forces, beginning in July. In the Eastern region, however, besides the scheduled transition in Mehtarlam district of Laghman, a much more problematic development can be witnessed, as US troops that abandon positions […]

War and Peace Read more

The Takhar attack: Targeted killings and the parallel worlds of US intelligence and Afghanistan

Kate Clark •

The targeted killing of Osama Bin Laden has given a boost to those in the US who believe this is also an effective strategy to defeat – or at least degrade – the Taleban in Afghanistan. This new AAN thematic report, by senior analyst Kate Clark, warns against this strategy, stressing that the legality of […]

Special Reports Read more

Ahmed Rashid in Berlin: Transition before a political settlement ‘is absurd’

Thomas Ruttig •

Earlier today, Ahmed Rashid participated in a Chatham House-ruled podium in Berlin about ‘Afghanistan on the Road to Bonn: Impacts of a Region in Change’. Of course, the event was overshadowed by the recent killing of OBL in Abbottabad, which has created some optimism for an opening political solution in Afghanistan amongst participants, and Ahmed […]

War and Peace Read more

5 May 2011 New AAN Report: The Insurgents of the Afghan North

AAN • admin •

In this new AAN report, released on 5 May 2011, Antonio Giustozzi and Christoph Reuter turn their sights on the Afghan North again. They describe the rise of the Taleban in the seven northern provinces, discuss their recruitment and shadow administration, and explore the effects of the conduct of the Afghan government and of ISAF’s […]

Events Read more

Was Afghanistan’s ‘Great Escape’ actually a great big sham?

admin •

Global Post, 5 May 2011 Jean MacKenzie has an Afghan ‘Deep Throat’ in the Kabul government who told her that the big Kandahar prison escape throught the tunnel was a sham and the 500 or so prisoners actually released by the Afghan government. She has a high-ranking wirness, Afghanistan’s Minister of Justice – who said […]

Recommended Reads Read more

Sein Auto, sein Haus, sein Feld (Osama’s car, house and field)

admin •

Frankfurter Rundschau, 5 May 2011 Willi Germund, a frequent contributor to AAN, has visited Abbottabad and talked to OBL’s neighbours: They report that ‘bearded men’ who spoke Pashtu often came out of the compound to buy icecream and sweets for the kids living there (in German).

Recommended Reads Read more

The Insurgents of the Afghan North

Antonio Giustozzi • Christoph Reuter •

In this report Antonio Giustozzi and Christoph Reuter describe the rise of the Taleban in northern Afghanistan. They discuss their recruitment and shadow administration, the conduct of the Afghan government, the effects of ISAF’s ‘capture-and-kill campaign’ and how all of this together contributes to a very unstable status quo. Until recently, the belief was widespread […]

Special Reports Read more

Inside the Taliban’s jailbreak tunnel

admin •

CNN, 5 May 2011 On the same day as the Global Post (see there under ‘recommended reading’) put some doubt on the story, CNN had a reporter ‘inside’ the escape tunnel and takes the story at face value.

Recommended Reads Read more

Al-Qaeda headless – Taleban unaltered

Thomas Ruttig •

The symbiotic relationship between al-Qaeda and the Taleban had been over-emphasised. Therefore, the impact on them by OBL’s death will remain limited, argues AAN’s Thomas Ruttig – in part 2 of a series of still raw thoughts on the Abbottabad raid. ‘Bin Laden had mostly taken on a symbolic role and his removal doesn’t directly […]

War and Peace Read more

The Kabul Bank Investigations; Central Bank Gives Names and Figures

Martine van Bijlert •

On Wednesday, 27 April 2011, the head of Afghanistan’s Central Bank, Abdul Qadir Fitrat, and the new (Central Bank appointed) chief of the Kabul Bank, Massud Ghazi, briefed the Parliament on what was going on with the Kabul Bank. They named names, gave detail of the close to one billion USD irregular loans that brought […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

The Afghan War without Osama – seven boiled-down thoughts

Martine van Bijlert •

So what to add to the cacophony of opinion and analysis that has already filled the airwaves and the internet? Some thoughts, boiled down to their very basic bottom-line. I don’t think the death of bin Laden will directly impact the fighting capabilities of any of the parties engaged in the war in Afghanistan. I […]

War and Peace Read more

Subscribe to receive updates from the Afghanistan Analysts Network

Sign up