Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Thomas Ruttig

[Afghans] At home in Kolkata

AAN •

The Hindu, 30 May 2015 Inspired by Tagore’s Kabuliwala, photo journalists Moska Najib and Nazes Afroz, have captured the stories of the Afghans in Kolkata in a photo exhibition ‘From Kabul to Kolkata: Of Belonging, Memories and Identity’. See also AAN’s dispatch, by Fabrizio Foschini, here. and a guest dispatch by one of the authors […]

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News Roundup and Notes: May 29, 2015

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Just Security, 29 May 2015 The security blog has a link to Kate Clark’s bio of Afghan defence minister candidate Masum Stanakzai at its news roundup for 29 May.

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Die Taliban vor den Toren von Kundus

Thomas Ruttig •

Loyal, 6/2015 The magazine of the German Bundeswehr Reservists’ Association, in its news part, publishes a short version of AAN’s analysis of the situation in Kunduz province, based on an interview with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig. Article not online.

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Is There Hope for Afghanistan’s Other Daughters?

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Foreign Policy, 26 May 2015 This blog looks at the case of Farkhunda and repercussions in Afghan society. It refers to the “storm of social media posts condoning her lynching” and uses quotes collected by “Borhan Osman of the Kabul-based Afghanistan Analysts Network in his excellent report, ‘The Killing of Farkhunda‘.”

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Dispatches Frontlines and faultlines on the world wide web Dateline: Afghanistan

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Indian Express, 25 May 2015 Praveen Swami says nice things about AAN, in a link collection what to read on Afghanistan: “Afghanistan Analysts Network https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org For policy wonks, and serious students of the conflict in Afghanistan, AAN is an essential source, providing scholarly analysis on current issues. AAN has sometimes been accused of being partisan […]

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Islamic State on the march? What fall of Ramadi tells us

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Christian Science Monitor, 24 May 2015 With extensive quotes from an article for al-Jazeera AAN’s Borhan Osman has written in 2014 under the headline “Afghanistan will not be the next Iraq”: It is the same situation faced by Afghanistan at the dawn of Taliban rule, suggests Borhan Osman, an analyst for the Afghanistan Analysts Network […]

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Stretched Afghan army falls back on militias to help defend Kunduz

Thomas Ruttig •

Reuters/Daily Mail, 22 May 2015 A report about the Afghan government enlisting hundreds of militia fighters to battle Taliban militants near the northern city of Kunduz quotes AAN’s Thomas Ruttig (and others) being skeptical: Creating new layers of forces beyond the ANSF, which is made up of the army and national and local police, could […]

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Dollars Disappear in Afghanistan With Exiting U.S. Troops

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Bloomberg, 21 May 2015 A short but interesting look at the impact of the military withdrawal on the (dropping) exchange rate between the Afghani and the US dollar, and related concerns about the Afghan economy: “The Afghani has dropped about 5 percent this quarter, the fifth-steepest fall among 84 so-called exotic currencies tracked by Bloomberg.” […]

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The Battle for Afghanistan Will Be Decided by Development

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Council of Foreign Relations blog, 21 May 2015 The blog, in an entry about Afghanistan’s development needs, quotes from a SIGAR report quoting a dispatch from Ghor by AAN’s Obaid Ali: “As Sopko countered [inaccurate ministry of education data about school enrollment]: …just one example of the gulf between official indicators and grubby reality, the […]

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Afghan clerics uneasy as civil rights movement gains momentum

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Reuters/Daily Times, 18 May 2015 Article looking at the context of the Farkhunda and other civil society protests perceived as ‘anti-Islam’ by part of the clergy, quoting AAN’s Borhan Osman: “These episodes have angered the mullahs (clerics) and I can see they are now drawing a line between this government and the former,” said Borhan […]

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New Fears Among Afghanistan’s Minority Hazara Community

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NPR, 16 May 2015 AAN’s Qayoum Suroush was a participant in a US public radio discussion (link to transcription and to audio): Moderator: Suroush found reports by the media and local authorities often speculate about the tribal affiliations of hostages. And in the wake of February’s bus attack, there is often an assumption that Hazaras […]

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American Killed in Afghan Guest House Attack Identified

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My Central Oregon. com, 15 May 2015 The US website reports that ex-AREU director Paula Kantor has been identified as the American victim of the 13 May guest house attack in Kabul and quotes from the AAN obituary: According to the Afghanistan Analysts Network, Kantor was a “dedicated researcher” who was “always focused on helping the […]

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