Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Thomas Ruttig

The 2018 Election Observed (5) in Nuristan: Disfranchisement and lack of data

Thomas Ruttig • Jelena Bjelica • Obaid Ali •

Organising elections in Nuristan, one of the most remote, under-served and unknown provinces, presents a severe challenge. Most villages are far from their nearest district centre and all of the districts are under some degree of Taleban control or influence. In two districts – Mandol and Du-Ab – people were fully deprived of their right […]

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Afghan minerals in the crosshairs of Blackwater’s Erik Prince

AAN •

TRT World, 14 November 2018 The founder of the notorious, and now defunct, Blackwater, has been making headlines for trying to privatise the Afghan war. What has gone unreported are his plans as “Trump’s advisor” to extract the country’s immensely rich mineral wealth. This article looks at his activities in Afghanistan. Although his spokesman said that […]

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In Afghan vote, an optimistic, energetic young guard targeted the old

Thomas Ruttig •

Christian Science Monitor, 14 November 2018 Against the overly optimistic headline, some quotes by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig trying to put a more realistic touch upon this part of the Afghan election-related media hype about the ‘youth wave’: Yet even with the emergence of a new generation committed to more democratic norms, change won’t be easy, […]

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Afghan Taliban Wants What It Hasn’t Been Able To Hold: Hazara Regions

AAN •

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 13 November 2018 AAN’s Ali Yawar Adili is quoted here about the recent fighting in Hazara regions in Uruzgan and Ghazni: “Hazara will never accept Taliban rule willingly, and will do their best to resist them,” says Ali Adili, a researcher at the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent think tank in […]

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U.S. Considers Asking Afghanistan to Suspend Presidential Election

AAN •

The Wall Street Journal, 13 November 2018 The Trump administration is discussing whether to press the Afghan government to suspend coming presidential elections, (…) as the U.S. seeks to engage the Taliban in talks to end the 17-year war. The possibility of such a step, one of several options being considered by U.S. officials, is […]

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Violence, voter turnout, and Afghan elections

AAN •

IRIN, 9 November 2018 The news agency quotes “other election observers” – here AAN – who noted “acute violence” and low voter turnout in places like Kunduz Province:  “The question remains as to whether a larger number of people will take part in the presidential election scheduled for April 2019, if the security situation does […]

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‘انتخابات افغانستان؛ ‘بدترین در ۱۷ سال گذشته

Thomas Ruttig •

BBC Farsi, 8 November 2018 An op-ed by Thomas Ruttig on the October 2018 parliamentary elections: “The worst organised in 17 years” – the editors unfortunately changed the title to “one of the worst…”

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Taliban vs. Taliban clash in Afghanistan’s west leaves 40 dead

Thomas Ruttig •

Stars and Stripes, 2 November 2018 In this article about clashes between rival Taleban groups in western Afghanistan, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted with some background: The breakaway group expected other disaffected Taliban would join, but no new groups seem to be signing on, said Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network.   

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داعش شاخه خراسان چیست؟

AAN •

Hasht-e Sobh, 9 Aqrab 1397 (31 October 2018) In this portrait of ISKP by former Afghan deputy defence minister Tamim Asey, research by Kate Clark and Borhan Osman at AAN is used as sourcing, among others: نابع من در تشریح این پدید منابع باز بوده و از نوشته نویسنده‌گانی چون انتونیو گوستوزی، عثمان برهان، کیت […]

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Taliban Floggings Hint At New Crackdown On Smartphones

AAN •

RFE/RL, 30 October 2018 AAN’s Obaid Ali is quoted here about the Taleban’s policy on smart phones: Obaid Ali, an expert on the Afghan insurgency at the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent think tank in Kabul, says the Taliban’s cultural commission banned all fighters from using smartphones in 2016 for security and religious reasons. Since […]

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Donald Trump’s Desire to ‘Get the Hell Out’ of Afghanistan Amid Taliban Gains Could Lead to Catastrophe

AAN •

Newsweek, 26 October 2018 A helpful analysis of public and not so public bleak US assessments of the situation in Afghanistan, although a bit US-centric, as usual (“After U.S. Special Forces and CIA teams ran the Taliban out of Kabul 17 years ago…”).

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