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PashtoMashtoLeaks (1): Bagram Calling

Yesterday, the BBC reported as follows: ‘President Barack Obama has told US troops in Afghanistan they are making crucial “progress” against insurgents. During an unannounced visit to Bagram air base near Kabul, Mr Obama said: “Today we can be proud that there are fewer areas under Taliban control.” He also spoke to President Hamid Karzai […]

4 Dec 2010 AAN Team • Political Landscape

2010 Election (39): Ghazni’s Election Drama – It’s the System (amended)

The IEC has announced the eagerly awaited result for Ghazni, which were the last of the outstanding Wolesi Jirga seats. At the same time, IEC chairman Manawi informed that this was ‘the final duty of the IEC regarding the parliamentary elections’ of 2010. This also means that he is planning not to deal with any […]

2 Dec 2010 Thomas Ruttig • Political Landscape

2010 Election (38): Who is coming from Baghlan?

The disqualification of votes by he IEC affected the outcome of the 18 September election a great deal in Baghlan province, too. It seems that some strong Pashtun candidates’s success has been hindered in particular. At a time when supporters of two disqualified candidates are organising extensive demonstrations and blockades on the Kabul–Mazar-e Sharif highway, […]

1 Dec 2010 Gran Hewad • Political Landscape

30 Nov/ 3 Dec, Saba TV Kabul: Vendrell in interview

AAN’s Advisory Board chairman and former UN and EU special envoy to Afghanistan, Francesc Vendrell, will be on Saba TV’s (Kabul) ’30 Minutes’ programme, in an exclusive interview together with Pakistani writer and journalist Ahmad Rashid — tonight Tuesday Nov 30 at 8:30 PM and rebroadcast on Dec 3 at 9:30 PM on SABA Television. […]

30 Nov 2010 AAN • admin • Events

Afghan Government Declares Kabul Smog Holiday

From tomorrow, 1 December, until the end of the Afghan year (20 March), Kabul will enjoy a proper, two-day weekend. Every Thursday, government offices will be closed and workers asked to stay at home. But it is not a social achievement – it is a smog-induced extra holiday, an attempt to give this polluted city […]

30 Nov 2010 Kate Clark • Rights and Freedoms

2010 Elections (37): What’s in a name? – The Results

Just days before September’s elections, AAN made the rash prediction that it would be interesting to see how the brothers, daughters and sons of the rich and famous would do in the polls. We had noticed just how many were running – a brother of Vice-President Khalili, two cousins of President Karzai, a brother of […]

30 Nov 2010 Kate Clark • Political Landscape

2010 Elections (36): The Post-Election Protest Wave

Just when the first round of protests staged by parliamentary candidates who did not find their names in the winning preliminary results was waning, a conspicuous new round of disqualifications and then the announcement of the final results have poured fresh gasoline on the fire. The dramatic intervention of the Attorney General has stoked the […]

29 Nov 2010 Other AAN • Political Landscape

Nine Years and Fifty Days

Unfortunately, I do not have much time to follow the Afghan press – and even less the many Afghan TV and radio stations. But it is worth tuning in – and if it is only to be reminded of a historical coincidence. So, here a few impressions on what I picked up over the past […]

28 Nov 2010 Thomas Ruttig • Context and Culture

2010 Elections (35): How the West was won

The controversial final results of the parliamentary elections are out, and it is time to look at the impact of the decisions made by the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), even though it is still not clear to what extent the Attorney General’s interventions will be able to affect the final tally. AAN analyst Fabrizio Foschini […]

27 Nov 2010 Fabrizio Foschini • Political Landscape

2010 Elections (34): Glossing over and moving on

Yesterday, on 24 November, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) announced the final results for all but one of the Parliament’s constituencies. The UN and US were quick to welcome the move, having been desperate to do so for weeks. The message is clear and is by now a familiar one: ‘The process was messy, it […]

26 Nov 2010 Martine van Bijlert • Political Landscape

27 November in Berlin: An Afghanistan play

The Berliner Compagnie, a Berlin-based free-lance troope known for their political theatre (‘Who killed Ken Saro-Wiwa?’, “Terra! Terra!’) is touring with its latest production ‘Die Verteidigung Deutschlands am Hindukusch’ (Germany’s Defence at the Hindukush, a paraphrase of former Defence Minister Struck) since almost two years. Who hasn’t seen it yet gets another chance this Saturday […]

25 Nov 2010 AAN • admin • Events

Giving Thanks on Black Friday

Parental advisory: Attention, attention! The following blog is satirical. People without a sense of humour are strongly advised to stop reading here. Thank you to Imroz TV for displaying the moral rottenness of the West through its misidentification of one previously unknown individual as a representative of the world community. Thank you to Mark Sedwill […]

25 Nov 2010 Thomas Ruttig • Context and Culture

2010 Elections (33): An almost final result

Finally, more than two months after E-Day, we’ve got them: the final results of yet another of Afghanistan’s fraud-ridden elections. Or have we? After today’s announcement by the Afghan Independent Election Commission (IEC), we know 238 out of the 249 members of the lower house, the Wolesi Jirga – something which the IEC called a […]

24 Nov 2010 Thomas Ruttig • Political Landscape

2010 Election (32): Crimes, misdemeanours but no consequences?

When the final result of Afghanistan’s parliamentary election is published tomorrow (Wednesday)(*), this saga might be over for much of the outside world. Because the process has become so bungled, there will be a big sigh of relief: ‘at least we have the list of the MPs now’. Not so for many Afghans. So called […]

23 Nov 2010 Gran Hewad • Political Landscape

Five Things Worth Watching

In early November several of AAN’s analysts and members gathered in Stockholm, to brainstorm, exchange ideas and participate in the annual SCA conference. We started the discussions by doing a quick round, asking everyone what the one or two issues were that are likely to be central, or that should not be forgotten, as we […]

19 Nov 2010 Martine van Bijlert • Context and Culture

The Inteqal Express Gets Green Light in Lisbon

This Friday’s NATO summit in Lisbon will nod through the Obama administration’s decision that there will be a phased handover of security tasks to the Afghan forces, maybe province-by-province, ‘inteqal’ in short. This is part of Petraeus’ copy-cat ‘Iraqi solution’ and the US allies’ exit strategy: declare combat operations over, withdraw a part of the […]

18 Nov 2010 Thomas Ruttig • International Engagement

EID-e MUBARAK!

The AAN executive board wishes all members, friends and readers of AAN as well as their families a happy and peaceful Eid.

15 Nov 2010 AAN • admin • Events

Birding for Survival

Our Dutch ex-soldier-cum-birdwatcher HG Scheltema from Kandahar (see his bird list here(*) has a friend, a US National Guardsman from Connecticut who served in Iraq for a year in 2004/05: Birding Babylon. His name is Jonathan Trouern-Trend who wrote a blog on his bird-watching (see it here, it seems to be continued by other bloggers). Meanwhile, […]

15 Nov 2010 AAN Team • Context and Culture

Flash from the Past: Missed Opportunities for Reconciliation

Our guest author Anand Gopal (*) looks back how chances for integrating Taleban into Afghanistan’s past-2001 political system were squandered and how the alienation of leading former commanders in Kandahar became a key motivating factor in sparking the insurgency. Therefore, the original article had the following sub-line: ‘The Victor’s Hubris and the Failure of Reconciliation’. […]

15 Nov 2010 Anand Gopal • Context and Culture

11-12 November 2010, SCA conference in Stockholm featuring AAN

“The Missing Link: Supporting democratic state-building in Afghanistan”. The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, the Folke Bernadotte Academy and ENNA have organised a 2-day international conference to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. “Following the US led strike in 2001 which led to the defeat of the Taliban regime, high goals have been set in order to […]

10 Nov 2010 AAN • admin • Events