Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Thomas Ruttig

The Taliban’s Rare Winter Offensive In Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

RFE/RL, 8 January 2016 A short quote from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig, on the subject, in this article by Frud Bezhan. More on Thomas’ website, in English and German, here. “The Taliban keep themselves open to different scenarios,” said Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent think tank in Kabul. “One, taking over […]

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Reporter’s Notebook: Afghan Killing, Flawed Justice

AAN •

New York Times, 5 January 2016 Alyssa Rubin, in her contribution to the Times’ Reporter’s Notebook column, mentions AAN’s analyses when she describes, in a view back into 2015, how she researched the Farkhunda killing: I went from one lawyer’s office to another, listening to their views on the trial. Almost every interview could have […]

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Analysts: Taliban attacks aim to strengthen position ahead of talks

AAN •

Stars and Stripes, 5 January 2016 AAN’s Borhan Osman is quoted on this analysis of the Taleban’s recent series of attacks and their fighting capabilities in general: “It already has raised a lot of concerns about the Afghan forces’ ability to fight on so many fronts,” said Borhan Osman, a researcher with the Kabul-based Afghanistan […]

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Krigströtta afghaner väljer att fly landet

AAN •

TT/Aftonbladet, 2 January 2016 In a premiere, AAN’s Lenny Linke is quoted in three leading Swedish dailies (Aftonbladet, Dagens Nyheter, not online and also in Sydsvenskan, here) in an article looking back at the Taleban’s military successes in 2015 (in Swedish) by the Swedish news agency TT: – Striderna har karaktären av ett par steg framåt […]

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What Has Become Of Taliban In Afghanistan? – Analysis

AAN •

Eurasia Review, 31 December 2015 A very short AAN quote on the divisions in the Taleban here, without concrete source: In fact, according to the Afghan [sic] Analyst [sic] Network, a segment of dissenters took their grievances to a private news network in Kabul, doing something that had no parallels in the past.

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Afghanistan: Die Vögel singen trotzdem

AAN •

Wiener Zeitung, 30 December 2015 An AAN quote, of Borhan Osman (from his Helmand analysis in The Guardian), in this unusually titled 2015 year ender by the Viennese daily which continues to cover Afghanistan closer than many other German-language newspapers: In den vergangenen sieben Monaten überrannten Taliban-Kräfte immer mehr Gebiete der südlichen Provinz [Helmand], die […]

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Afghan Emigration to Europe Seen as Setback

Thomas Ruttig •

Voice of America, 29 December 2015 Two quotes of AAN’s Thomas Ruttig on the Afghan refugee problem: Many emigrants gamble their hard-earned savings, sell off their properties or borrow money to pay human traffickers, according to Thomas Ruttig, a senior researcher at Kabul-based research institution Afghanistan Analysts Network. (…) “The high number of Afghans becoming refugees […]

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Vormarsch der Taliban im Süden Afghanistans

Thomas Ruttig •

SRF, 26 December 2015 Listen to the audio (in German) of an interview AAN’s Thomas Ruttig gave to Swiss radio about the latest fighting in Helmand (it is the third audio from the top).  

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Kampf gegen die Taliban: Afghanische Geistersoldaten

Thomas Ruttig •

dpa/FrankfurterAllgemeine, 26 December 2015 In this article about the recent setbacks for the Afghan government forces, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted on one possible major reason: “ghost soldiers” (and policemen): Der deutsche Direktor des in Kabul ansässigen Recherche-Instituts Afghanistan Analysts Network, Thomas Ruttig, sagt, es gebe Hinweise, dass viele der Soldaten und Polizisten, die auf […]

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Geistersoldaten verhelfen den Taliban zu ihrem Erfolg

Thomas Ruttig •

Die Welt, 25 December 2015 A quote by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in this article by the conservative German daily about the latest Taleban forays in Helmand: … Das wirft die Frage auf, wie die Aufständischen es schaffen, Zehntausende von Regierungstruppen in Schach zu halten. Es sei eine Mischung aus Unfähigkeit, Erschöpfung und Korruption, sagen Analysten. […]

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[the situation in Sangin]

AAN •

BBC, 24 December 2015 A little christmas present: Amb. Francesc Vendrell, head of the AAN advisory board, interviewed by BBC4’s “Today” programme, on the situation in Helmand. He says that the fall of Sangin is not that “terribly important” from its strategic value; that the Taleban are not winning but also not losing; the best […]

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Afghanistan in 2015 – Withdrawing pledges to withdraw

Thomas Ruttig •

Deutsche Welle, 24 December 2015 Another AAN quote in another year ender, this time by German foreign radio and by Thomas Ruttig: … the German government wants to increase the number of troops it stations in Afghanistan to 980 next year. For Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, this figure is by no […]

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