Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: February 2016

Afghanistan – March 2016 Monthly Forecast

Martine van Bijlert •

Security Council Report, 29 February 2016 UN Security Council forecast cites Martine van Bijlert’s recent dispatch “The IEC Announces 2016 Election Date—but what about electoral reform?” as useful additional resource.

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Deux attentats font 25 morts

Thomas Ruttig •

AFP, 27 February 2016 A short quote from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in this article about the Quadrilateral Coordination Group’s ultimatum to the Taleban to join peace talks in under two weeks: Mais «l’échéance est totalement irréaliste, d’autant que les talibans disent ne pas avoir été contactés» par le quartette, explique à l’AFP Thomas Ruttig, spécialiste […]

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Taliban suicide bombings kill Afghan civilians

Thomas Ruttig •

The Guardian, 27 February 2016 A short quote on the ‘expected’ talks with the Taleban by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in this article – and a link to AAN’s website: The quartet gave the Taliban an “ultimatum”, as the Afghanistan Analysts Network termed it, to either join the next meeting, slated for early March, or face a […]

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Taleban har magten over dansk millionprojekt

Thomas Ruttig •

Politiken, 26 February 2016 The Danish daily quotes AAN’s Thomas Ruttig and forthcoming AAN information about Helmand in this article about the precarious security situation in the province where Danish troops had been deployed over years and where the country financed its largest development project in Afghanistan, a hydropower station dubbed “Little Kajaki”: Oplysningerne om […]

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A view of the quadrilateral talks in Kabul. Source: Etilaat-e Ruz.

In Search of a Peace Process: A ‘new’ HPC and an ultimatum for the Taleban

Thomas Ruttig •

Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the US – the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) – are pushing to open a new chapter in the ongoing search for a peace process for Afghanistan. The group has now met for the fourth time, although direct talks with the Taleban have yet to begin. Earlier this week, it issued an […]

War and Peace Read more

Schlechte Aussichten für Friedensgespräche in Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

SRF, 24 February 2016 Both a transcript and an audio of an interview (in German) with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig regarding the hoped-for talks with the Taleban (go though Thomas’ German website, Afghanistan Zhaghdablai).

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For the first time, an MP has accused a fellow MP of corruption. The case eventually went to the Attorney General, but only after the vast majority of other MPs voted to give the accused immunity from prosecution. Photo: Pajhwok archive photo.

2015 Performance of the Wolesi Jirga: Low attendance, nominal oversight

Salima Ahmadi •

The lower house of the Afghan parliament, the Wolesi Jirga, will end its winter recess and begin its next sitting on 6 March 2016. With elections delayed, the current group of MPs is likely to be in place for some time. This seemed like a good time, then, to review the lower house’s performance in 2015. […]

Political Landscape Read more

Some think time not right for talks with Taliban

Thomas Ruttig •

Stars and Stripes, 21 February 2016 A very short quote from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in this interesting article looking at the general mood in Afghanistan (or amongst commentators) about possible talks with the Taleban: Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghan Analysts Network, said the issue has become “very polarizing” among Afghan citizens, partly because the […]

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Afghanistan Is in Bad Shape, and It Could Get Worse

AAN •

The National Interest, 19 February 2016 In an op-ed for the National Interest’s  blog The Buzz, Susanne Schmeidl, commenting on UNAMA’s annual report on civilian casualties in Afghanistan, refers to an AAN analysis: Kate Clark from the Afghanistan Analysts Network points out the obvious: the war has flipped. It is now “the Taliban driving the […]

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Afghanistan is in bad shape, and it could get worse

AAN •

The Interpreter, 19 February 2016 Susanne Schmeidl comments on the latest UNAMA civilian casualty report and quotes from Kate Clark’s AAN dispatch about the same subject: Kate Clark from the Afghanistan Analysts Network points out the obvious: the war has flipped. It is now ‘the Taliban driving the conflict, with the ANSF largely trying to […]

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Afghanistan on the Brink, Part 2

AAN •

AfPak Channel (Foreign Policy), 19 February 2016 In his analysis of the “fracturing of Afghanistan’s body politic”, Ioannis Koskinas, Senior Fellow at New America Foundation, quotes an AAN dispatch about the stalled election reform by  Ehsan Qaane and Martine van Bijlert: Afghanistan Analyst Network report, “the fact that [the] few members with experience or knowledge of elections are all […]

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Afghanistan: Die Gründe für den vierten Massenexodus

Thomas Ruttig •

Die Presse, 19 February 2016 The Austrian daily quotes AAN’s Thomas Ruttig on reasons for the current mass flight of Afghan refugees and about the viability of so-called ‘safe zones’ in the country (in German): The weakness of the Afghan government is one factor for the last military successes of the Taleban, so Thomas Ruttig, […]

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