Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: March 2012

Why do the Taliban Oppose Nowruz?

admin •

Bamdad website, 21 March 2012 The Taleban recently released a statement calling Nowruz an unlawful celebration and had declared ceremonies would be targeted for attack.

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Afghan New Year: Sal-e Naw Mubarak

Kate Clark •

Three swallows were sighted in the skies over Kabul by members of the AAN team this week – a welcome harbinger of spring after this year’s long, cold winter. They disappeared again, as a dust storm racked Kabul on the last day of the Afghan year. Nawruz has now dawned, even with grey and gritty […]

Context and Culture Read more

A Former Military Psychologist on the Afghanistan Massacre

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The New Republic, 20 March 2012 That’s my quote of the week, from the article recommended: ‘It would be drastically wrong, not only morally, but also psychologically, to think of murder as a normal response to the experience of combat.’

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6 April 2012: Combattre en Afghanistan?

AAN • admin •

AAN’s Sari Kouvo speaks about Afghan women’s rights and reconciliation at a one-day seminar on Afghanistan organised by the Institut International des droits de l’homme et de la paix (Caen, Normandie). Read more about the seminar here.

Events Read more

No one asked their names

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al-Jazeera, 19 March 2012 al-Jazeera did: Here are the names of the killed and wounded by the US soldier Bates’ killing spree in Pamjwai – we are grateful that they do not remain anonymous.

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One Year of Transition: A Look Back (2)

Fabrizio Foschini •

Second part of the retrospective look at the last three months’ transitions which took in many Afghan provinces. AAN’s Fabrizio Foschini briefly comments on each of these and on some characteristics of the overall process. The second phase of transition continued on 11 January 2012 with a ceremony in the Wardak provincial capital of Maidan […]

International Engagement Read more

One Year of Transition: A Look Back (1)

Fabrizio Foschini •

The second phase of transition, which was announced on 27 November 2011, is drawing to a close after a long winter, and after a turbulent few weeks that have refocused attention on the fall-out over the ongoing conflict. Many more areas of Afghanistan have witnessed an official transfer of security, while information about the third […]

International Engagement Read more

Amount of dollars flown out of Kabul doubled last year

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Financial Times, 18 March 2012 Some interesting figures: Afghanistan’s central bank found that the amount of declared dollars flown out of Kabul doubled to $4.6bn last year; this was almost equivalent to Afghanistan’s 2010-11 state budget of $4.8bn. The sum amounts to more than $150 for each Afghan citizen, in a country with average per […]

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The End of the Affair? Taleban Suspend Talks

Kate Clark •

The Taleban have announced that they are suspending talks with the Americans, only six weeks after the opening of their political office in Qatar. In a statement, they described the US approach as ‘shaky, erratic and vague’ and accused the Americans of breaching a memorandum of understanding which had been previously arrived at. This decision […]

War and Peace Read more

The Kandahar Killing: With friends like this… (amended)

Thomas Ruttig •

After the killing of 16 Afghan civilians by a US soldier in Kandahar province, Western military and political officials have – duly – apologised again but also called the incident ‘rogue’, a ‘first time’ or a ‘completely out-of-the-ordinary’ event. Thomas Ruttig, a Senior Analyst at AAN, wonders whether this is the case or whether it […]

War and Peace Read more

Freeing the ‘Guantanamo Five’ 2: Kafka in Cuba

Kate Clark •

Five Taleban prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, whose release is a key demand of the Taleban, prior to/as part of peace talks, have said they are willing to be transferred to Qatar. President Karzai had said they had to be handed over to his government, but after a high level visit by Afghan officials, both Taleban […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

Their drill may be out of step, but Afghan army is ready for the fight

admin •

Sunday Telegraph, 11 March 2012 A nice piece of uncommented inteqal propaganda, just read this: ‘[T]he aim is to get the [ANA] recruits to a level where they are “Afghan good enough”. It is a phrase that rings around the ISAF headquarters and represents a more qualified understanding of what is achievable.’ More quotes to […]

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