Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: January 2013

Warlords als Oligarchen: Brachte die Intervention eine neue Klasse an die Macht?

Other AAN

Islamische Zeitung (Berlin), 31 January 2013 The Berlin-based newspaper re-publishes a blog that summarises one of the latest publications of AAN’s Thomas Ruttig: Das Scheitern der Luftlande-Demokratie in Afghanistan: Die Bonner Vereinbarungen von 2001 und die versandete Demokratisierung am Hindukusch – ein Blick von innen Thomas Ruttig, in: Marléne Neumann, Michael Schied and Diethelm Weidemann […]

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‘Talibanistan’, new book with AAN contributors, gets excellent review

AAN admin

‘Talibanistan: Negotiating the borders between terror, politics, and religion’, edited by Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann, brings together a number of (updated) policy papers written for the New America Foundation’s (NAF) ‘The Battle for Afghanistan’ and ‘The Battle for Pakistan’ since 2010. The NAF calls the authors ‘an unparalleled group of experts offer a nuanced […]

Events Read more

Budget Through, Impeachments Pending: Wolesi Jirga Went into Winter Recess

Obaid Ali

At the third go, the Lower House of parliament finally approved the government’s general budget for the Afghan year 1392 (March 2012 to March 2013) on 20 January 2013. The so-called qatia report – the final account for the previous fiscal year – however, revealed that many ministries had again failed to spend a significant […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

Failed Afghan dam project ‘offered British military redemption’ after Iraq debacle’

Other AAN

The Daily Telegraph, 30 January 2013 The British daily reports about AAN’s latest report, authored by Noah Arjomand, looking at the project of refurbishing the Kajaki dam which was supposed to bring electricity to Kandahar but didn’t so far. It also has a reaction from the UK’s Ministry of Defence said: ‘The decision for UK […]

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Eagle’s Summit Revisited: AAN report about Decision-Making in the Kajaki Dam Project

Noah Arjomand

In the summer of 2008, in what was described as the biggest British-led ‘route clearance operation’ since World War II, nearly 5000 ISAF and Afghan troops transported eight components of a hydroelectric turbine, each weighing 20 to 30 tonne, from Kandahar Air Field to the Kajaki Dam in Helmand Province – in the face of […]

Special Reports Read more

Sicherheitslage in Afghanistan: Von Politik in Propaganda abrutschen

Other AAN

Tageszeitung (Berlin), 29 January 2013 Article by AAN’s Thoms Ruttig in the context of German parliament’s current debate over another extension of the ISAF mandate. He notes a growing gap between realities and reporting of governments, that the reporting about numbers of security incident does not sufficiently describe a security situation which continuously deteriorates in […]

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School Support Grows Even Under Specter of a Taliban Return

Other AAN

New York Times, 28 January 2013 ‘Over just 12 years, Abdul Aziz, 50, has seen at least two anti-education governments come and go. He opens his school’s doors when the local politics allow it, but with all the volatility he cannot attract good teachers or even wheedle the provincial education department to send him enough […]

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30-31 January 2013, Barcelona: AAN speakers at Conference on Afghanistan Legacy

AAN admin

The international intervention in Afghanistan started in October 2001. The aim was not only to bring down the Taleban regime, but to capture Osama Ben Laden, the leader of al-Qaida, and to save women from the fundamentalists. During more than a decade of international presence, billions of dollars have been invested in Afghanistan and nearly […]

Events Read more

Watching ‘The Patience Stone’ in Kabul

admin

Afghanistan Analysis blog, 28 January 2013 Young Afghans watch the movie after a novel by Atiq Rahimi (of ‘Earth and Ashes’ fame) and discuss what can/should be shown in movies and what not, with interesting insight from a young mulla.

Recommended Reads Read more

The Growth of Neo-radicalism: Neo-Salafism and Sectarianism

Abbas Daiyar

There are indications about the involvement of neo-radical – both neo-Salafist and Iranian-inspired Shia – groups in the Ashura clashes that occurred last November at Kabul University. AAN has recently reported about the events. In a follow-up article, our guest blogger Abbas Daiyar(*) argues that an increase of the activities comes in the wake of […]

War and Peace Read more

Kabul und die Sicherheitslücken

Other AAN

Deutsche Welle (online), 22 January 2013 Article on the Taleban’s recent attack on the Traffic Police HQ in Kabul, with extensive quotes from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig, warning not to ‘over-interpret such operations’ as a ‘deterioration of the security situation’ which has peaks and does not develop linearly. Such attacks also ‘have more propagandistic than military […]

AAN in the Media Read more