Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Thomas Ruttig

America lost in Afghanistan: Anatomy of a foreign policy disaster

AAN •

Salon.com, 6 November 2015 Ann Jones, in her long piece about the aftermath of Kunduz and the US ‘phyrrhic’ victory in Afghanistan, links to the AAN website, for the full text of the agreement on the National Unity Government. 

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Afghan Taliban splinter faction picks rival leader in challenge to new chief

AAN •

The Telegraph, 5 November 2015 AAN’s Borhan Osman is quoted on a Taleban rival faction electing its leader, Mullah Mohammad Rasul: It is the first official split in the once-unified Taliban, making the announcement “significant symbolically, politically, and historically for the movement”. according to Borhan Osman, an analyst with the Afghanistan Analysts Network.

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ISIL won’t get very far in Afghanistan – for now [and] The Afghan battlefield has become more complicated

AAN •

al-Jazeera, 1 November 2015 Two eminences – Barnett Rubin and Ahmad Rashid – on Daesh/ISIS/ISIL in Afghanistan. (Rubin calls it his “best guess” in his roundmail.) The link above leads to Barney’s article; Ahmed Rashid’s is here.

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España pone fin a su misión en un Afganistán sumido en el caos

Thomas Ruttig •

Vice News (Spanish), 29 October 2015 In this article by  Mònica Bernabé about the end of the Spanish military mission in Afghanistan, there is a long quote by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig on the fixed US withdrawal date, now extended already twice: “Establecer una fecha [para la retirada], primero en 2014 y después en 2016, fue […]

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Flüchtlinge aus Afghanistan: De Maizières dilettantischer Ausflug in die deutsche Entwicklungshilfe

Thomas Ruttig •

Flüchtlingsrat Niedersachsen, 29 October 2015 The Refugee Council of the German federated state of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) cites Thomas Ruttig in a press release on the refguee situation in Germany on the balance of the ISAF mission, from his article “Militarisation of Development Aid”.

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In Afghanistan, a strongman [militia commander Nabi Gechi] rises in battle against a resurgent Taliban

AAN •

Washington Post, 29 October 2015 Portrait of militia leader Nabi Gechi, who “is not just the general [but also] the judge, the police chief and the tax collector” in Kunduz’ Qala-ye Zal district “where U.S. troops left long ago and there are no soldiers or police” and where Gechi is “accepting protection money from the […]

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Kunduz regroups — under a cloud of fear

AAN •

Washington Post, 22 October 2015 Excellent reportage from Kunduz: university looted, shops destroyed in fighting, civilians killed in the crossfire and a harrowing story how Taleban killed  a former bodyguard of Mir Alam – but “in many other areas, the insurgents left residents alone” and “some allegations of abuses committed by the Taliban were false” […]

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[Kunduz:] Ein doppelter Erfolg für die Taliban

Thomas Ruttig •

Wochenzeitung, 21 October 2015 Op-ed commentary by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig about the two-weeks Taleban takeover of Kunduz (in German). He argues that it was a multiple propaganda victory for the insurgents: first, they showed that they can take an important provincial capital (for the first time since they fell from power); secondly, they forced their […]

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Female Afghan Governor Won’t Back Down Amid Threats, Controversy

AAN •

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 19 October 2015 In an article about Afghanistan’s only current female provincial governor, the website quotes biographical background from AAN: Her career path, according to the Afghan Analysts Network, included working as a high-school teacher in the provincial capital; a stint at the governor’s office, and participation as a civil-society activist […]

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America Failed Kunduz Long Before It Bombed a Hospital

AAN •

Vanity Fair, 16 October 2015 Anand Gopal, who reports about an embed with Afghan militias in Kunduz province, quotes an AAN guest dispatch: As Bethany Matta reported for the Afghanistan Analysts Network, the new governor was at odds with his own deputy, who told the AFP, “There is no such thing as good militia or bad militia. […]

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Assertive Russia Weighs Afghan Perils, Past And Present

Thomas Ruttig •

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 16 October 2015 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted on the direction of Afghan-Russian relations: “I think Russia will not get more involved in Afghanistan directly, but it is already increasing its role as supplier of military hardware,” says Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent think tank in […]

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Troop levels leave Afghan political problems unchecked

Thomas Ruttig •

Stars and Stripes, 16 October 2015 Under a very good headline, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig about the US decision to extend the troop withdrawal date again: Washington would be wise to commit more resources to finding a political deal, said Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghan Analysts Network. “I think the U.S. should concentrate on a […]

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