Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: February 2019

Afghanistan: Can peace prevail?

Thomas Ruttig •

Deutsche Welle, 15 February 2019 The English language website of German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle, in another review of the Afghan peace negotiations, quoted AAN’s Thomas Ruttig as saying: “I’m convinced that if a peace deal is arrived upon only bilaterally, without the Afghan government … such a deal will be dead in the water,” […]

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US-Taliban talks: Is Afghanistan ready for real peace?

Thomas Ruttig •

Christian Science Monitor, 15 February 2019 In this article reviewing the US-Taleban peace negotiations and its outcome so far, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted as saying: The result, says Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network in Kabul, is that much more needs to be done. “Let’s not expect that all the mess of […]

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Rückzug der russischen Armee [aus Afghanistan] vor 30 Jahren

Thomas Ruttig •

Tagesschau 24, 15 February 2019 A video of an interview with Thomas Ruttig on the 30th anniversary of the Soviet military withdrawal from Afghanistan (in German).

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‘The victory was so strong’: Afghans celebrate Soviet pullout

Thomas Ruttig •

al-Jazeera, 15 February 2019 A short quote from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig about the Soviet withdrawal 30 years ago: “Militarily the Soviet army was not defeated. They continued to control much of Afghanistan, at least the cities and also part of the countryside – not unlike the current situation,” said Thomas Ruttig, co-director, Afghanistan Analysts Network […]

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Re-classified: Afghanistan is again the world’s deadliest conflict

Thomas Ruttig •

The Security Times, 14 February 2019 The newspaper for the Munich Security Conference carries an op-ed by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig about the situation in Afghanistan – from peace talks to the state of war.

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Taliban auf dem Vormarsch “Freiheitsrechte in Afghanistan bewahren”

Thomas Ruttig •

Tagesspiegel, 14 February 2019 The Berlin-based daily has a full interview (in German) with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig discussing the US-Taleban peace talks and the German offer to host a final peace conference including the Taleban.

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The Soviet Army was driven from Afghanistan 30 years ago. Putin’s Russia is repackaging it as a patriotic victory

AAN •

Washington Post, 14 February 2019 Amie Ferris-Rotman reports that while the Kremlin under Gorbachov in 1989 “called the Afghan war #a political mistake’ [and] Russian lawmakers, urged by President Vladimir Putin, are now trying to make a 180. On Friday, the date the last Red Army force withdrew from Afghanistan 30 years ago, the Russian parliament plans to […]

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From Sufi Sheikh to President: Historic mujahedin leader Mujaddedi passes away

Thomas Ruttig •

With Sebghatullah Mujaddedi, another of the historic leaders of the mujahedin parties, which fought the Soviet occupation (1979-89), has died. Mujaddedi belonged to a famous family of Sufi leaders and for this spiritual position, he was widely known simply as with the honorific ‘Hazrat Saheb’ in Afghanistan. Having been severely ill for some time, Mujaddedi […]

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Afghanische Wahlkommission gefeuert: Wahlergebnisse nicht in Sicht

Thomas Ruttig •

Tageszeitung, 13 February 2019 Another report by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig for the Berlin-based daily, this time on the firing of both Afghan election commissions by President Ghani and the still lacking parliamentary election results from October 2018.

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What Do the Afghan Peace Talks in Moscow Mean?

AAN •

PRIO, 12 February 2019 Kristian Haprviken, a specialist for south/central Asian regional relations at PRIO Oslo, looks at Russian intentions with regards to Afghanistan. He warns that one should not view Russia’s involvement “as having purely evil intent.” And further: One view is that the political capital Russia is now building in Afghanistan could be exploited […]

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Afghanistan’s 2019 elections (2): Who is running to become the next president?

Ali Yawar Adili •

The Independent Election Commission has published the preliminary list of the 2019 presidential candidates. The list includes 18 candidates. It should now go through a vetting process and a challenge and appeal period before it is finalised and published on 26 March, according to the electoral calendar. AAN’s researcher, Ali Yawar Adili, looks at the […]

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Negociações entre Talibã e EUA trazem esperança e medo a afegãos

Thomas Ruttig •

O Globo, 10 February 2019 A quote from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in this article in the leading Brazilian newspaper (behind a paywall, in Portuguese). Here an English translation of the quote: – The deal is still vague, needs to be negotiated in detail. There are open questions about how to reconcile the government, other political […]

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