Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: July 2014

Das Wahlchaos geht weiter (not online yet)

Thomas Ruttig •

Tageszeitung (Berlin), 31 July 2014 Article by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig describing latest developments in the Afghan post-election process, including the third stop of the audit, continuing lack of agreement about criteria between the two candidates and UN attempts to find a way out, and some outcomes of the impass: demonstrations by journalists against the long […]

AAN in the Media Read more
The Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani in Kandahar, where the Cloak was initially meant to be hosted. Photo: Fabrizio Foschini

Under the Cloak of History: The Kherqa-ye Sharif from Faizabad to Kandahar

Bette Dam • Fabrizio Foschini •

These are hard times for holy shrines in many Muslim countries. Often targeted by fundamentalist militants who reject practices of popular religious devotion as un-Islamic, many ancient and famous ziarats have been destroyed or damaged. The last on the list seems to have been the tomb of Yunus (Jonah) near Mosul, Iraq, reportedly blown up […]

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A title-less “Op-Ed from Secretary Kerry”

AAN •

Tolonews, 30 July 2014 This op-ed for the Afghan media group seeks to clarify reports in the Afghan media that the election agreement brokered by the author between presidential contenders Abdullah and Ghani also contained an agreement to switch to a parliamentary system. After stating that “It’s not for outsiders to describe the contents of […]

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Die Sieger von Kunduz [The German troops in operation Halmazag]

AAN •

Deutschlandfunk, 29 July 2014 Audio of a radio feature (in German) by German freelancer Marc Thörner who found out that German troops in Kunduz province – during what has often been described as “Germany’s first military offensive since World War II” – have killed a number of Afghan civilians (and found proof for it) during […]

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Happy Eid al Fitr!

AAN Team •

While many Afghans seem tired of the long electoral process, and despite the concerns and uncertainties felt by the Afghan people, we hope that the coming Eid Al Fitr can bring happy days to all. The Afghanistan Analysts Network wishes a very happy and peaceful Eid Al Fitr to all Muslims, and particularly to the […]

Context and Culture Read more

Afghanistan in World War I (1): Afghans in the Kaiser’s jihad

Thomas Ruttig •

 A hundred years ago, on 28 July 1914, the First World War started when Austro-Hungary declared war on Serbia after a group of young pro-independence Serbian terrorists shot dead the Austro-Hungarian crown prince in Sarajevo one month earlier. Soon, millions were dying on the battlefields across four continents in what was termed the “first global […]

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The audit in Kabul - photo by Kate Clark

2014 Elections (42): Audit stopped, re-started, UN intervenes

Kate Clark • Qayoom Suroush •

There have been days of futile negotiations between the technical teams of the two presidential election candidates over the nature of the ‘invalidation’ criteria – the rules for deciding what to do with votes deemed suspicious in the audit of the 14 June second round of the presidential vote. Now, the United Nations has stepped in […]

Political Landscape Read more

A US-backed militia runs amok in Afghanistan

AAN •

al-Jazeera, 23 July 2014 In this reportage from Andar by Matt Aikins where a US-backed ‘uprising’ militia allegedly killed three civilians, an incident confirmed by the UN and denied by ISAF, AAN is quoted – through three links – on the history of the Andar anti-Taleban ‘uprising’ and the configuration of local militias.

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Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory: How ISAF infighting helped doom Sangin to its ongoing violence

Julius Cavendish •

Sangin district in Helmand has again, this year, seen heavy fighting, this time between the Afghan National Security Forces and the Taleban. With dozens killed and thousands displaced following an insurgent assault involving hundreds of fighters, the Taleban leadership is once again showing how much it values this strategic crossroads and poppy-producing hub. Guest author […]

War and Peace Read more

Why Afghanistan’s National Unity Government Is Risky

AAN •

Foreign Policy (blog), 22 July 2014 In this article  on FP’s ‘South Asia Channel”, authors Srinjoy Bose and Niamat Ibrahimi quote AAN’s Kate Clark – not attributed to AAN but called a “journalist” (although linking to her AAN dispatch) – is quoted as saying that the current audit of Afghanistan’s presidential vote “is also a deeply political […]

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Memorials and Patrons: How northern Afghan elites try to own history

S Reza Kazemi •

Elites in Mazar-e Sharif, the capital of Balkh province and most important city in the north, have, in recent years, supported the building of new memorials and re-naming of the city’s streets and intersections. They are also sponsoring intellectuals and their literary and artistic output. These are politically driven cultural projects, attempts by the leading […]

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Afghan Presidential Vote Audit Continues Despite Glitches

AAN •

Voice of America, 20 July 2014 This article about the Afghan audit and its still unclear rules quotes AAN’s Kate Clark: “It felt like the referee had blown his whistle and the football match had started, not almost quite sure what a goal was,” said Kate Clark of the Kabul-based Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN), who […]

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