Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: August 2015

A gentler Taliban wield an iron fist

AAN •

New York Times, 15 August 2015 A reportage from Baghran district in Helmand “where the Taliban were scarcely ever out of power” – “fficially, the Afghan government acknowledges having lost only four out of roughly 400 districts to the Taliban. Of these, Baghran was the first to fall, about a decade ago, ” “There is […]

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Insurgent Bombings Rise as U.S. Eases off the Taliban

AAN •

Foreign Policy blog, 14 August 2015 In this otherwise awful piece, basically demanding – after the wave of Taleban attacks in Kabul – the US resumes its earlier (but unsuccessful) targeted killing programme against the Taleban, AANÄs Kate Clark is quoted – on the fact that also a US special forces member was killed in […]

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Afghanistan: Der verdrängte Krieg

AAN •

Deutschlandfunk, 14 August 2015 Under the timely headline “Afghanistan: Forgotten war”, the German quality radio station quotes AAN’s Borhan Osman, indirectly – and it is not clear how far Borhan’s statements go and where the author’s begin (in German): “Borhan Osman works for the Afghanistan Analysts’ Network”, an independent research organisation. AAN resides in the heart […]

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“But This Gang Of Ministers Could Neither Fly Nor Swim Properly”: Memoirs from 1920s Afghanistan (Book Review)

Jolyon Leslie •

In 1927, a tumultuous time for Afghanistan as King Amanullah attempted comprehensive social reforms, an Indian teacher, Syed Mujtaba Ali, came to Kabul. His travelogue, “In A Land Far From Home”, published in India in 1948, very entertainingly reports on Kabul during those days, recalling encounters on the street as well as with the Afghan […]

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Afghanistan: Ein langer Weg

Thomas Ruttig •

Wiener Zeitung, 14 August 2015 Extensive quotes of AAN’s Thomas Ruttig and another AAN dispatch in this article in the Vienna daily on the Taleban attack wave in Kabul and the leadership after Mullah Omar’s death: “Vom Dschihad zu sprechen verbindet, es stärkt den Kampfgeist. Mansour würde schwach wirken, wenn er zu Verhandlungen aufruft und […]

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Why The Taliban Criticized An IS Video As ‘Horrific’ And ‘Un-Islamic’

Thomas Ruttig •

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 13 August 2015 In an article on the RFE/RL “Tracking Islamic State” page, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted with a cautioning statement: But some analysts say IS does not pose much of a threat [in Afghanistan]. “IS inroads in Afghanistan are minimal so far” and limited to Nangarhar, said Thomas Ruttig […]

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Afghan president in last-ditch attempt to repair ties with Pakistan

AAN •

The Guardian, 13 August 2015 AAN’s Kate Clark is quoted here: “He’s [Ghani] gambled a lot, but with very little to show for it so far, and almost all of his political capital is used up on this side of the border,” said Kate Clark from the Afghanistan Analysts Network, adding that Pakistan would probably […]

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Afghanistan: ghost war, ghost peace

AAN •

Daily Times (Pakistan), 13 August 2015 A very concise analysis and commentary by the daily’s columnist Dr Mohammad Taqi: The Pakistani leadership’s mantra that it is desirous of an “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process” comes across as an abject farce when Taliban leaders live and die — both politically and physically — on its soil. […]

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Taliban leadership struggle fuels wave of attacks in Afghanistan

AAN •

Reuters, 12 August 2015 AAN’s country director on the meaning of the latest wave of Taleban attacks: “I don’t think there is any change in strategy,” said Kate Clark, country director for the Afghan Analysts Network in Kabul. “Mansour has largely been focussed on the military struggle for years, there’s been precious little on the […]

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Kabul pushes Islamabad to rein in Taliban as insurgency rises

AAN •

dpa, 12 August 2015 The German press agency (in English) extensively quotes both AAN’s Kate Clark and Borhan Osman: Kate Clark, a senior political analyst for the Afghan Analyst Network, said Mansoor is trying to look strong amid the criticism of his leadership. “Talk of ‘jihad’ is uniting. It boosts morale. Calling for negotiations would make […]

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«Die Taliban haben gezeigt, dass sie noch immer mächtig sind»

Thomas Ruttig •

SRF4, 11 August 2015 Listen to the audio of an interview (in German) on Swiss radio with AAN’s co-director Thomas Ruttig about the meaning of the latest wave of Taleban attacks in Kabul: it showed that the Taleban still have power, are willing and able to strike. They also seem to emerge re-united from their […]

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Taliban attacks could be negotiating ploy, analysts say

AAN •

Stars and Stripes, 11 August 2015 AAN’s Kate Clark quoted on attacks and talks: … some longtime Afghan analysts believe that the Taliban leaders have not entirely abandoned the idea of talks with the Afghan government. The leadership first needs to prove it’s a potent force, and one that is independent of Pakistan, too. “The […]

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