Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: April 2012

Taliban paid ‘protection money’ by Afghan government

admin •

The Telegraph, 16 April 2012 Article points to the possibility of corruption, internal disputes, disciplinary measures and nervousness within the Taleban ranks, based on the internal ‘arrest’ of three high-ranking commanders.

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4 May 2012: The EU in International Affairs III

AAN • admin •

AAN discusses the EU’s role for promoting human rights in Afghanistan at the VUB conference about EU and international affairs. For more information about the conference, click here.

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Profiting in Afghanistan

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The Washington Post, 14 April 2012 Another interesting contractor: The US Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) on Feb. 1 approved a $330 million five-month extension on a five-year contract that now totals $2.3 billion: It provides more than 8,000 interpreters working for US forces at 200 sites in Afghanistan. The company’s name is Mission […]

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13 April 2012: New article by Thomas Ruttig in ‘Orient’

AAN • admin •

‘The Road through Qatar: Chances for a political solution with the Taleban’ is the latest article by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in ‘Orient’, issue II/2012, a Berlin-based journal founded in 1960 and currently edited by Deutsches Orient-Institut in the German capital. It is part of a special issue on Afghanistan. AAN’s Thomas Ruttig looks at the […]

Events Read more

Afghanistan War: Special Operations War Plan Proposed

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AP, 12 April 2012 Now the McRaven Plan: The AP has learned details of a plan developed by the head of US special operations ‘that would replace thousands of US troops with small special operations teams paired with Afghans to help an inexperienced Afghan force withstand a Taliban onslaught as U.S. troops withdraw’. According to […]

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Handing over Night Raids

Kate Clark •

Afghanistan and the United States have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on ‘Special Operations’, ensuring that night raids will continue – with Afghans ordering and conducting them and US forces acting only in support. The agreement is a victory for President Karzai who has long insisted – up till now in vain – that […]

International Engagement Read more

Farewell to the Boss? Mujaddedi resigns

Thomas Ruttig •

It is still not clear whether the resignation of Hazrat Sebghatullah Mujaddedi from all government positions last week was meant to be permanent, or a political manoeuvre planned to improve his chances in moving to lead the High Peace Council. Nevertheless, it is worth a closer look, argues Thomas Ruttig, Senior Analyst at AAN (with […]

Political Landscape Read more

A Slippery Slope: What Happened to Women’s Rights in March 2012?

Sari Kouvo •

March was an interesting month for women’s rights in Afghanistan: President Hamed Karzai endorsed a statement by the National Ulema Council according to which women are worth less than men; the Afghan government launched its first report under the Convention on the Elimination on all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) that, while focusing on […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

On the Way to Chicago: Fighting Corruption – and Condoning It?

Gran Hewad •

Networks of corruption in the Afghan administration are like the tentacles of a hungry octopus entangling its prey. It is difficult to make them let go. But is the Afghan government really trying? Despite the uncovering of various graft scandals in recent years, it has failed to bring their investigations to a satisfactory end. Meanwhile […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

The Logistical Nightmare of Leaving Afghanistan

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Der Spiegel (online), 3 April 2012 How NATO and the US will need Russia and the Central Asian Republics to be able to pull out of Afghanistan.

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Withdrawal in 2014? Myths and realities

Thomas Ruttig •

A series of contradictory statements about a possible earlier start to the (mainly US) foreign troop drawdown and a quicker handover of security responsibility to Afghan forces, as well as debate over the likely form of NATO’s post-ISAF mission in Afghanistan has caused confusion in the media(1) and wider public sphere recently. Thomas Ruttig, Senior […]

International Engagement Read more

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