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Figure of the Day: US$ 100 m. (in destroyed orchards)

An Afghan government delegation has reported that ‘Afghan and foreign forces have caused more than US$ 100 million damage to fruit crops and homes during security operations in southern Kandahar province’. AAN’s senior analyst Thomas Ruttig remembers an episode last summer. When a young Afghan visited our office last summer and told us about US […]

11 Jan 2011 Thomas Ruttig • War and Peace

Because the Night Belongs to Raiders: Special ops in Nangrahar

The first days of 2011 have already been dotted with reports of renewed night raids by US special forces turning lethal for civilians, as the ones in Ghazni and Kunduz apparently were. The resentment these operations stir up among Afghans countrywide seems likely to wipe out any possible military benefit deriving from them. The negative […]

10 Jan 2011 Fabrizio Foschini • War and Peace

For a Handful of Dollars: Taleban allowed to join ALP

It’s official: reintegrated Taleban will be able to join the Afghan Local Police (ALP) – referred to more commonly by civilians as militias or arbaki. This is according to the head of ISAF’s Regional Command North (who also said such Taleban might become teachers). In flat contradiction, the MoI told AAN today that Taleban will […]

8 Jan 2011 Kate Clark • War and Peace

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011 – with the aqlak

With a little delay (well, the new Afghan year starts only in March and we’re all just back from our vacations) the AAN Management Board wishes all AAN members, contributors, readers as well as all its friends, partners and donors a happy and peaceful Sal-e Nau-e issawi. We are looking forward to a further fruitful […]

1 Jan 2011 AAN • admin • Events

AAN Year-Ender: What we think about 2010 and 2011

As the year draws to a close we have asked friends, members and contributors to reflect on the year that lies behind us and on the new year that is about to start. The result is a long and eclectic list of observations, predictions, concerns and hopes. With the very best wishes for Afghanistan in […]

28 Dec 2010 Martine van Bijlert • International Engagement

Risky German Development Strategy

On Christmas Eve, a German development consultant working on a road-building project was murdered in Kholm (also called Tashkurghan) in Northern Afghanistan. The Taleban claimed responsibility for the murder. The following commentary by Willi Germund, a German free-lance journalist frequently travelling to Afghanistan and Pakistan and also a frequent contributor for AAN, has kicked off […]

27 Dec 2010 Willi Germund • International Engagement

Election Stalemate and the Revival of Old Fault Lines (updated)

To all those who have lost track of what’s going on with the Afghan Parliamentary elections: don’t feel too bad. It has become very difficult to follow, even for those of us who really try – not just in terms of who is pushing for what and what that may result in, but also in […]

23 Dec 2010 Martine van Bijlert • Political Landscape

Flamingo Watching in Dubai

‘Listen to the birds. That’s where all the music comes from.’ (The first of Captain Beefheart’s 10 Commandments of Guitar Playing) ‘If you can’t listen to them, watch them at least. It gives you some peace of mind after watching the war.’ (AAN Senior Birdwatcher Thomas Ruttig) No, the Emirates are not only megahigh-rises, never-ending […]

22 Dec 2010 AAN Team • Context and Culture

Reading papers on an airplane (amended)

A little press review by an analyst trying to catch up with the news after a few days off: the Obama review, terrorist threats in Europe, Dubai’s well-informed taxi-drivers, the inventors of waterboarding, a not so crazy Afghan project and Germany’s still grotesque discussion about whether that’s a war going on in Afghanistan. Thanks goodness, […]

19 Dec 2010 Thomas Ruttig • International Engagement

Plain Turkey by the AfViet Envoy

In 1971, a secret history of the Vietnam War was leaked to the American press. One chapter of what became known as the Pentagon Papers, had been written by a young career diplomat called Richard Holbrooke. He of course, would in his final mission, serve as the US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan (he died […]

19 Dec 2010 Kate Clark • International Engagement