Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Thomas Ruttig

New four-party group could steer Afghanistan toward reconciliation

AAN •

Global Times, 24 January 2016 Probably China’s official position on its role in Taleban talks, in China’s official newspaper for the world.

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Taliban demands prisoner release to rejoin Afghan peace talks

Thomas Ruttig •

Reuters, 24 January 2016 Two short quotes by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in this Reuters piece: Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network in Kabul, said the Taliban have been fairly consistent in their demands and he is skeptical the latest push would yield any results [the latter refers to the quadrilateral talks hosted by […]

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Kabul’s blast walls protect a powerful few while causing misery for many

AAN •

Washington Post, 23 January 2016 How metal scavengers and taxi drivers suffer from reduced mobility; artists, who can’t remove the walls, at least try to make them more colourful; and about the right to have proper security.

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Integreren met een eigen mentor; Minderjarige asielzoekers in Zweden

Thomas Ruttig •

De Volkskrant, 20 January 2016 In this reportage about underage Afghan refugees in Sweden in the Durch daily, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted on possible reasons why so many of them come to Europe (not online): Waarom juist zoveel minderjarige mannen uit Afghanistan komen, is vol- gens Thomas Ruttig, een Duitse onder- zoeker bij het […]

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Afghanistan Sets Election Date (or Maybe Not)

AAN •

The Diplomat, 20 January 2016 This report on the setting of Afghanistan’s next election date quotes AAN’s Martine van Bijlert several times: Martine van Bijlert, of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, noted in her evaluation of the news that the “Abdullah camp, apart from generally pushing for changes to the electoral system, has particularly insisted on the […]

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Framework for peace will need to convince Afghan people and Taliban

Thomas Ruttig •

Stars and Stripes, 19 January 2016 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted twice here about the latest quadrilateral peace (or better: preparatory) talks in Islamabad, the first one reacting to a question about foreign minister Rabbani’s statement that that “the Afghan public will not accept an open-ended process”: Thomas Ruttig, co-founder of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, […]

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Police And Militia Corruption Aids Taliban In [Faryab]

AAN •

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 19 January 2016 Another case study on a recurrent but worrying theme: On paper, nearly 30,000 policemen and pro-government militiamen are tasked with protecting the province of Faryab from Taliban fighters, whose robust summer offensive threatened to claim the strategic area on Turkmenistan’s border. In reality, few of the policemen and […]

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Islamic State attack claim signals escalation by group in Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

Stars and Stripes, 14 January 2016 Quotes from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in this article about the IS claim for the suicide attack against the Pakistani consulate in Jalalabad: If the Jalalabad attack proves to have been carried out by Islamic State militants, it would be significant, said Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghan Analysts Network. […]

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Neuer Anlauf zu Friedensplan für Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

dpa, sda, ATA/Der Standard, BaslerZeitung etc, 11 January 2016 Quotes by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig on today’s quadrilateral Afghanistan talks in Pakistan to prepare a new round of talks with the Taleban: Der Afghanistan-Analyst Thomas Ruttig sagte, es sei falsch, die Taliban als “Marionetten Pakistans” anzusehen. Da seien zwar Abhängigkeiten aus der Vergangenheit, aber die Taliban […]

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Etats-Unis et Chine au chevet de la paix en Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

Le Monde, 11 January 2016 In this backgrounder on attempts to revive peace talks, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is briefly quoted (in French, full article for subscribers only): “Les talibans ont aussi dénoncé les négociations en juillet parce qu’ils avaient été assurés que la rencontre ne serait pas rendue publique, ce qui a probablement été fait par […]

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The new Taliban leader whose shadow hangs over Afghan peace talks

Thomas Ruttig •

Washington Post, 10 January 2016 Some quotes on Taleban leader Mullah Mansur and peace talks by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig: Mansour became Omar’s right-hand man “kind of by default,” said Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network. Again, however, Mansour proved surprisingly proficient. “He effectively led the Taliban during a very complicated time, which was […]

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