Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Thomas Ruttig

Vestens krig i Afghanistan fortsætter

Thomas Ruttig •

Information, 2 March 2015 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted extensively in this article by the Danish daily about the West’s continuing war in Afghanistan, after combat troops were officially withdrawn: »Krigen er på ingen måde slut for Vesten,« konstaterer Thomas Ruttig, leder af det uafhængige ekspertnetværk Afghanistan Analyst Network […]. »Tværtimod fortsætter den med uformindsket […]

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Young Afghans strive for education and better lives after years of turmoil

AAN •

The Guardian, 2 March 2015 The British daily’s Kabul correspondent reports about the stresses on the Afghan higher education system, briefly quotes Obaid Ali from his AAN dispatch on the kankur, the university entry examination, and uses some more details AAN found, unfortunately out without crediting us. Obaid Ali, a researcher with the Afghanistan Analysts […]

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“An attempt to wipe out history”: The destruction of the Bamian Buddha colossi in 2001

Kate Clark • Thomas Ruttig •

On 26 February 2001, the leader of the Afghan Taleban movement, Mullah Muhammad Omar, ordered from his headquarters in Kandahar that “all statues and non-Islamic shrines in the different areas of the Islamic Emirate must be broken” because they were worshipped by people of non-Islamic religious beliefs and were therefore ‘idols.’ This kind of worship, […]

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Weekend reading: Uprising in Kabul

Thomas Ruttig •

War on the Rocks (blog), 27 February 2015 The blog recommends Thomas Ruttig’s history-focussed AAN Dispatch about the first urban uprising against the Soviet invasion in Kabul in February 1980, ie 35 years ago, as weekend reading. Thank you!

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مصاحبه در مورد اختطاف 30 تن در شاهراه کابل – قندهار

AAN •

Radio Azadi, 25 February 2015 AAN’s Qayoum Suroush in an interview with Radio Azadi about the abduction of 30 Hazara bus passengers in Zabul province: Q: It is said that the Taliban are for the peace talks, but what such events means? A: It could have two meaning; but first, it should be clear that who […]

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Ash Carter Says U.S. Is Considering A Slower Exit From Afghanistan

AAN •

NPR, 22 February 2015 Full interview with AAN country director Kate Clark, commenting on visiting defense secretary Carter’s statement that the US may slow its withdrawal from Afghanistan to make sure “progress sticks”, the ongoing two military missions and “IS light” in Afghanistan.

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Six Days That Shook Kabul: The ‘3 Hut uprising’, first urban protest against the Soviet occupation

Thomas Ruttig •

Today 35 years ago, the first large, urban uprising against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan took place in Kabul. It was eight weeks after Soviet tanks had rolled into the country to save the regime of the PDPA, which had taken over power in a coup d’etat 20 months earlier and quickly run up against […]

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How Islamic State is expanding its empire of terror

AAN •

The Observer, 21 February 2015 Looking at the expansion of IS beyond Iraq and Syria, on Afghanistan, AAN’s Borhan Osman is quoted here: “In practice, the IS groups in Helmand and Farah have not been involved (so far) in actions that resemble the brutality or sectarianism of the mainstream Isis,” said Borhan Osman, who has […]

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Ash Carter a Kabul: «Rivediamo i piani per il ritiro»

AAN •

il manifesto, 21 February 2015 The Italian left-wing newspaper quotes AAN’s Kate Clark: Atti­vità dif­fi­cile da trac­ciare, fuori da ogni con­trollo e dai cal­coli sta­ti­stici, come ha ricor­dato Kate Clark, dell’Afghanistan Ana­lysts Net­work. Rispetto ai rap­porti pre­ce­denti, quest’anno Unama ha aggiunto anche una sezione dedi­cata alle vedove di guerra. 60 inter­vi­ste, per un qua­dro deso­lante: tutte […]

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How ISIS Has Expanded Beyond Its Syrian Stronghold

AAN •

NPR, 18 February 2015 The NPR’s Phil Reeves quotes from Borhan Osman’s latest AAN dispatch about IS in Afghanistan, particularly about ideological differences betwee IS and the Taleban: “It’s actually not easy for outside militant organizations to operate in Afghanistan, says Borhan Osman, of the Afghanistan Analysts Network. For example, there are religious differences, Osman says. […]

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Experts dispute upbeat views on Afghan fight

Thomas Ruttig •

Stars and Stripes, 19 February 2015 “Despite these signs of potential instability, military leaders and politicians continue to portray Afghanistan as a country making steady progress. That can have damaging consequences, experts say,” the newspaper writes. ‘The overly positive assessments are repeated so often that the leaders in the military and civilian world start to […]

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