Month: April 2021

Afghanistan After the US Withdrawal: An Elusive Peace – Three Questions to Thomas Ruttig

Thomas Ruttig •

Institut Montaigne, 30 April 2021 The Paris-based nonprofit, independent think tank did an interview for its blog with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig to map out possible scenarios after the US and allied troop withdrawal from Afghanistan (in English).

30 Apr 2021

Abschiebungen nach Afghanistan

Bayerischer Rundfunk, 30 April 2021 Listen to the podcast of an interview with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig about another planned (later ‘postponed’) deportation of rejected Afghan asylum seekers from Germany (in German).

30 Apr 2021

The ‘forgotten’ Afghan refugees taking their own lives

BBC, 29 April 2021 At least 13 Afghans in Indonesia have taken their own lives in the past three years. Each had been waiting between six and 10 years for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to tell them if they’d be given resettlement elsewhere. Nearly 8,000 Afghan refugees and asylum seekers were registered with the UNHCR […]

29 Apr 2021

Afghanistan Sees Resurgence Of Warlords, In Familiar Echo Of Civil War

Gandhara, 22 Apil 2021 This article in the RFE/RL Afghanistan-Pakistan blog quotes AAN’s Ali Adili: Ali Adili, a researcher at the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent think tank in Kabul, says the international military presence kept in check many of the country’s former strongmen, who received high-ranking roles within the government in a nod to […]

22 Apr 2021

Zuviel Geld für die falschen Leute: Die Nato hat die Warlords in Afghanistan gestärkt – nicht die Demokratie

Tagesspiegel, 22 April 2021 Thomas Ruttig’s op-ed in the Berlin daily (in German), arguing that US and NATO’s support for warlords instead of democratisation contributed to the current dire situation in Afghanistan, and that the troop withdrawal is attempt to shed responsibility for the West’s contribution to it.

22 Apr 2021

American politics grounded in fear, ignorance and fantasy: New special report on Afghans in Guantanamo, as US prepares to withdraw troops

Kate Clark •

President Joe Biden has announced that American troops will leave Afghanistan before 11 September 2021, a day that will mark twenty years since al-Qaeda attacked the United States and drew US forces to Afghanistan. Another anniversary is also looming: it will soon be twenty years since President George Bush opened the Guantanamo Bay detention camp […]

19 Apr 2021

New Special Report from AAN: “Kafka in Cuba, a Follow-Up Report: Afghans Still in Detention Limbo as Biden Decides What to do with Guantanamo”

Kate Clark •

As newly-elected United States President Joe Biden considers what to do with the almost two-decades-old ‘war on terror’ detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, we publish a special report on the last Afghans held there. Two Nangraharis, Asadullah Harun Gul and Mohammad Rahim, have both been detained since 2007. We also trace the fates […]

19 Apr 2021

“Die Taliban regieren bereits große Teile des Landes”

Die Zeit, 17 April 2021 An extensive interview with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig with the online version of the leading German weekly, commenting on the announcement of the unconditional withdrawal of US troops and the Taleban’s rejection to attend a planned peace conference in Istanbul.

17 Apr 2021

Nach der Rückkehr ist vor der Flucht

Die Welt, 17 April 2021 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted in this article for the conservative German daily about the story of a group of Afghan asylum seekers deported back to their country from Germany, about the situation after the US troop withdrawal announcement (in German, not online): „Es bleibt abzuwarten, wie die Tali-ban darauf […]

17 Apr 2021

Afghanistans ungewisse Zukunft

SRF, 16 April 2021 Listen to a 20 minutes interview with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig at Swiss public radio looking at scenarios following th announced US military withdrawal from Afghanistan (in German).

16 Apr 2021

Afghan towns brace for economic and security upheaval as US bases prepare to close

Stars and Stripes, 16 April 2021 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted in this article about possible economic consequences of the US and NATO troop withdrawal: If the economy gets worse, people may take up weapons again to feed their families, said Thomas Ruttig, co-director of Afghanistan Analysts Network. “Afghanistan might become worse off (economically) than […]

16 Apr 2021

Abzug der US-Soldaten aus Afghanistan: Die Taliban übernehmen die Regie

Tageszeitung, 15 April 2021 Summarising report and analysis on US President Joe Biden’s announcement of the final US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan (in German).

15 Apr 2021