Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: May 2014

Turkmenistan Slowly Reacting To Instability On Afghan Border

AAN •

Eurasianet, 16 May 2014 Two of Obaid Ali’s AAN dispatches from Faryab (“A Taleban Foothold in the North” in 2012 and “a province under constant attack” in 2013) are quoted in this article, and the author asks: “So is this reason for concern for Turkmenistan?”

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Elections 2014 (19): Final results’ timeline trumps transparency

Martine van Bijlert •

This morning, on 15 May 2014, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) announced the final results of the first round of the presidential elections. Both frontrunners have since then publicly accepted the results, while still claiming that in a fair process they would have done better, and are readying themselves for the second round vote that […]

Political Landscape Read more

Afghan Presidential Election Goes to Runoff

AAN •

Voice of America, 15 May 2014 In a report about the announcement of a necessary second round in the Afghan presidential election, AAN’s Kate Clark is quoted: Observers like Kate Clark of the Kabul-based Afghanistan Analysts Network hope voters will demonstrate the same kind of interest and excitement in the runoff. “If the Afghan people […]

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Outgoing Afghan leader not going anywhere, to U.S. chagrin

Thomas Ruttig •

Reuters, 13 May 2014 In an article looking at the future of outgoing Afghan president Hamed Karzai, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted: Thomas Ruttig, co-director of independent research organization Afghanistan Analysts Network in Kabul, says Karzai has positioned himself well to stay in the political game. “Karzai successfully has worked with all major contenders for […]

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2014 Elections (18): The Abdullah interview

Kate Clark •

The second round of Afghanistan’s presidential election has not yet been formally announced, but preparations are already underway, with election material just beginning to be sent out across the country. The run-off is pencilled in for 14 June 2014 and, this time, only two names will be on the ballot paper: Dr Abdullah Abdullah and Dr […]

Political Landscape Read more

Slippery Slopes: Ecological, social and developmental aspects of the Badakhshan landslide disaster

Thomas Ruttig •

A huge double landslide, of possibly unprecedented proportions, destroyed parts of a village in Badakhshan’s Argo district and killed a still unconfirmed number of people on 2 May. AAN Senior Analyst Thomas Ruttig looks at the combination of causes of this disaster including the long-term effects of global warming impacting large parts of South Asia, local […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

CIA’s plan to retrench in Afghanistan worries U.S. military

AAN •

Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2014 “The CIA is planning to close its satellite bases in Afghanistan and pull all its personnel back to Kabul by early summer, an unexpectedly abrupt withdrawal that the U.S. military fears will deprive it of vital intelligence while thousands of American troops remain in the country, U.S. officials said. […]

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Afghaanse media negeerden aanslagen verkiezingsdag

AAN •

Radio 1 (Netherlands), 07 May 2014 The Dutch radio station discusses Afghan journalists’ decision not to report Taleban violence on Afghan election dsy. AAN’s Martine van Bijlert is quoted here (with audio stream): “In eerste instantie heeft het ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken een heel laag aantal geweldsincidenten gegeven. Het ministerie van Defensie, om te laten zien […]

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How Progressives Got Afghanistan Wrong

AAN •

Jacobin magazine, 6 May 2014 “The ‘decent Left’ was wrong: a blood soaked occupation did not lead to a promising post-Taliban future” writes Greg Shupak in the “magazine of culture and polemics” and quotes AAN’s Thomas Ruttig on socio-economic developments: Thomas Ruttig of Afghanistan Analysis Network writes that “economic activity in general [is] falling,” unemployment […]

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‘Secret NATO Jails’ that Aren’t Secret: Ambush and drama over detainees

Kate Clark •

In the Afghan government’s latest attempt to wipe out any foreign role in detentions, the commander of the Detention Facility in Parwan (DFIP) on Bagram Air base, General Faruq Barakzai, has said detainees can no longer be sent there. Both US and UK forces have been transferring detainees to the DFIP, which the US finally handed […]

International Engagement Read more

May Day on Workers Street: Trade unions and the status of labour in Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

More than 1,000 Afghan men and women took to the street on International Labour Day on 1 May. With the country’s latest mining disaster, killing at least 24 workers only one day earlier, the participants had one acute problem to address: workers’ safety in the mining sector. However, the new leadership of Afghanistan’s largest trade […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

Bala Hissar, Sherpur fortress and Arg: The architecture of power in Kabul

Bill Woodburn •

Throughout the centuries, the seat of power in Kabul has almost always been within the walls of a strong fortress-palace. That will continue, as whatever the outcome of the current election, the new president will continue to live in the Arg. Guest author Bill Woodburn*, retired military engineer and specialist in fortified architecture, traces the […]

Context and Culture Read more

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