Month: April 2021

Truppenabzug aus Afghanistan: Tür auf für die Taliban

Tageszeitung, 15 April 2021 Op-ed commentary by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in the Berlin-based daily about the US announcement of an unconditional troop withdrawal from Afghanistan (in German): Since the US and its Western allies are not innocent of the messy situation in Afghanistan, the withdrawal of troops as a door opener for the Taliban is […]

15 Apr 2021

NAVO-troepen verlaten Afghanistan, maar wat voor land laten ze achter?

NOS, 15 April 2021 Quotes from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig at the Dutch public broadcaster NOS’s website, on the US announcement of their unconditional troop withdrawal from Afghanistan: Op de vraag of het vertrek een verstandig besluit is, reageert Thomas Ruttig van het Afghanistan Analysts Network stellig: “Er was geen ruimte meer voor goede keuzes. De […]

15 Apr 2021

“Afghanistan droht ein Exodus“: Was der Nato-Abzug bewirkt

Tagesspiegel, 15 April 2021 Quotes from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in this article by the Berlin-based daily (in German) summarising reactions of German analysts to the US troop withdrawal announcement from Afghanistan: Weil die Nato mitziehen muss, erwarten unabhängige Experten schlimme Folgen. „Etwas Gutes für Afghanistan entsteht aus dieser Entscheidung nicht“, sagte der Kodirektor des Afghanistan […]

15 Apr 2021

Afghanistan Braces for Renewed Conflict When America Departs

Wall Street Journal, 15 April 2021 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted here, answering the author’s question about a comparison of the situation when the Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989 with the current US withdrawal context and the chance for unexpected reallignments: “In 1989 the institutions were more united, and everyone really was feeling […]

15 Apr 2021

Präsident Ghani allein zu Haus

nd, 15 April 2021 Guest article by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig for the Berlin-based lftwing daily, analysing the situation in Afghanistan after the final US troop withdrawal decision and the Taleban cancellation of their participation in the planned Istabl piece conference, also looking at first reactions from Afghanistan (in German).

15 Apr 2021

Disbanding the ALP – An Update: Major transition of security forces achieved during wartime, but at a cost

Kate Clark •

It is now six months since funding for Afghanistan’s oldest and largest community defence force, the Afghan Local Police (ALP) ended, and three months since the force should have been wound up. The early stages of the disbandment went badly, as we reported in October. The government was late in making preparations and failed to […]

15 Apr 2021

Afghanistan: Biden Vows to End Nation’s Longest War by 9/11 After Decades of Bloodshed & Destruction

Democracy Now, 14 April 2021 One of the penalists was pointing to AAN research: And we also should point out that many, many reports, by credible institutions and individuals, like SIGAR, The Washington Post and also the Afghanistan Analysts Network, have repeatedly demonstrated and documented that the ruling elite in Washington have been lying about […]

14 Apr 2021

Los afganos temen otra guerra civil tras la retirada delas tropas de EE UU

El País, 14 April 2021 This article in the leading Spanish daily (behind paywall) quotes from Thomas Ruttig’s external article for CTC Sentinel, looking at the question whether the Taleban have changed since their fall from power in 2001 (in Spanish, behind a paywall): Thomas Ruttig, fundador y codirector del centro de estudios Afghanistan Analysts […]

14 Apr 2021

Afghanistan-Experte: Taliban sind in einer extrem starken Position

epd, 14 April 2021 A short first commentary by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig about the repercussions of th announced US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan (in German).

14 Apr 2021

Afghans face pivotal moment as US prepares to ‘close the book’

Kate Clark •

BBC, 14 April 2021 AAN’s Kate Clark is quoted in an article by the BBC’s Chief international correspondent, Lyse Doucet, about US President Joe Biden’s plan to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan by 11 September 2021. “The Taliban leadership has shown no sign of wanting peace, and every sign of wanting to pursue a route […]

14 Apr 2021

Afghanistan’s Ethnic Groups Share a Y-Chromosomal Heritage Structured by Historical Events

PLoS ONE, 7 (3) (2012) This 2012 article sheds interesting light, based on scientific data from genetics research, on the much-discussed ethnic diversity of Afghanistan – pointing to little-known and important commonalities: Afghanistan … has been inhabited since the Paleolithic and later became a crossroad for expanding civilizations and empires. Afghanistan’s location, history, and diverse […]

13 Apr 2021

Afghanistan’s press freedom is threatened. Meet the young journalists fighting for it

Reuters, 13 April 2021 AAN’s Ali Adili is quoted in this analysis of the Afghan media under threat: Ali Ya[w]ar Adili, researcher at Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent policy research organisation, calls the post-2001 era “a radical transformation of the country when every single aspect saw a change.” (…) Between 2001 and 2014, the media slowly […]

13 Apr 2021