Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Sudhansu Verma

U.N. Reported Only a Fraction of Civilian Deaths from U.S. Raids in Afghanistan

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IPS, 25 March 2011 The recent UN/AIHRC report about civilian casualties failed to apply the same humanitarian law standard for defining a civilian to SOF raids that it applied to Taliban assassinations, report Gareth Porter and Shah Noori. According to the AIHRC, the figure for SOF casualties represented only 13 incidents that the commission had […]

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The Risks of Rising Anti-American Feelings in Kabul

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Eurasianet, 24 March 2011 Additional for US soldiers posing with the corpses of randomly killed civilians (the trial is under way), the Quran burning in the US and incidents of more civilian casualties during special forces operations, Aunohita Mojumdar reports, that also day-to-day behaviour is contributing to increased anti-US feelings in Kabul, and she tells […]

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Adams Krieg (Adam’s War, in German)

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Spiegel 12/2011 (21 March 2011) The story about twelve US soldiers who created what they called a ‘Kill Team’ at FOB Ramrod, Kandahar – a stroy from a war that – as the magazine summarises – ‘has lost view ar its initial cause’ and in which soldiers have developed ‘pure hatred for all Afghans’. The […]

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Kriegsverbrechen in Afghanistan (War Crimes in Afghanistan)

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N24 (German TV), 20 March 2011 Next week, the process against twelve US soldiers who run what they called a ‘kill team’ at FOB Ramrod in Kandahar province will start in the US. They apparently shot Afghan innocent civilians, manipulated the crime scene, took photos and collected body parts as trophies. Although under arrest, the […]

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Revealed: Afghan chief accused of campaign of terror is on US payroll

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The Independent, 18 March 2011 This article by Julius Cavendish throws some light on another of the shadowy forces operating in Afghanistan, the so-called ‘Afghan security guards’, also known amongst Afghans as ‘campaign’. It reveals that one commander in Urgun, Paktika, operates together with US special forces despite ‘persistent allegations that he launched a two-year […]

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Ghor Warlords Accused of Abusing Women

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IWPR, 17 March 2011 IWPR has gathered evidence from provincial government officials, police and residents of Ghor, who report that numerous grave human rights abuses are being committed by militia forces which in theory are not even supposed to exist any more – a tell-tale story about the ‘success’ of the Disbandment of Illegal Armed […]

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In Afghan Kilns, a Cycle of Debt and Servitude

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New York Times, 15 March 2011 Author Michael Kamber describes the system of indentured labour usually known from the Indian subcontinent used in Afghan brick kilns, how workers are bought and sold and their children bound by their parents’ contracts. An ISAF spokesman says the force conducted frequent inspections at construction sites and had no […]

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Sal-e nau mubarak / Neway kal mubarak sha (amended)

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The AAN Management Board wishes in particular all Afghan AAN team members, contributors, readers as well as all friends and partners a happy and more peaceful new year 1390. Let us all hope that the festival itself can be celebrated without disturbances (see text below) and continue to work together for peace and true reconciliation. […]

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The Fallacy of COIN: One Officer’s Frustration

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Small Wars Journal, 13 March 2011 Former USAID official and marine Scott Dempsey gives a realistic description of the celebrated (and often visited) COIN model district on Nawa, of what had been achieved there really and what not.

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King Amanullah Khan’s mausoleum on verge of collapse

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Pajhwok News Agency, 12 March 2011 The mausoleum of the reformer-king needs ‘urgent attention of the authorities’, Jalalabad-based writer Lal Pacha Azmoon said and informed about the ‘cracks in the building’. Menawhile, governor Gul Agha Sherzai said the building will be repaired – hopefully.

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Counting the Dead in Afghanistan

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Science, 11 March 2011 A detailed discussion of trends in civilian casualties, using data from Unama, the Afghan NGO ARM (called here ‘the highest-resolution data of all, describing individual incidents’), WikiLeaks and – for a first time – the full CIVCAS (civilian casualty) data collected by ISAF. Discrepancies between the data are explained: ISAF only […]

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Permanent Bases for Afghanistan?

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National Review, 10 March 2011 Ahmad K. Majidyar, a senior research associate at the American Enterprise Institute, reviews (some) Afghan opinion on this issue.

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