Harper’s, 11 May 2014 Now without pay wall: Mujib Mashal’s portrait of the Taleban’s intelligence chief Qari Ahmadullah, often declared dead (killed) but apparently still alive.
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Washington Post, 8 May 2015 Although the headline sounds a bit US-centric (it is weird and unsustainable projects run by military non-development specialist, not the US withdrawal as such), a very interesting and sobering article how the US leaves Kandahar behind without electricity supplies – not least because it concentrated on unrealistic aims (repairing Kajaki […]
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Vice, 29 April 2015 Gary Owen, aka El Snarkistani, gives a nice written summary of the latest SIGAR reports, regarding the US (and Afghan) inability to say how many soldiers and policemen there exactly are – belonging to the many “failed attempts at reconstruction.” He asks “how many millions of dollars have been spent on troops […]
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The Independent, 27 April 2015 A British-run security company, New Century Consulting, came under criminal investigation in the US over “$130m ‘unsupported‘ and ‘questioned‘ costs” from a $176m contract to train Afghan security forces in counterinsurgency,
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The Guardian, 22 April 2015 A british judge has cancelled a flight on board of which rejected Afghan asylum seekers were supposed to be deported after warning by Afghan minister for refugees and repatriation that 80% of country is not safe to return to.
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RFE/RL, 26 April 2015 Report about Afghan Turkmens who have ended up in the crossfire between Afghan government troops and the Taleban in Badghis province – and who have not been allowed so far to cross into Turkmenistan, the only open way to escape.
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Reuters, 19 April 2015 “A United Nations sponsored report has found that Afghanistan government officials who headed oversight of the police [Hakim Nejrabi] suppressed complaints of corruption against the force and has recommended their dismissal, according to a copy of the document seen by Reuters. The United Nations Development Programme is also investigating why its […]
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Los Angeles Times, 19 April 2015 A new UN report, “Justice through the eyes of Afghan Women”, says Afghanistan’s court system is failing to provide adequate access to women who are victims of violence. “Along with fears of corruption, including paying bribes to move the process along, women in Afghanistan, as in many other countries, felt they […]
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Jamestown Terrorism Monitor, 20 March 2015 Finally, another non-alarmist take on the IS presence in Afghanistan and Central Asia, by Ryskeldi Satke, Casey Michel and Sertaç Canalp Korkmaz.
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New York Times, 20 March 2015 The Times looks at the “tumultuous” (and not fully completed) first six months of the Ghani-Abdullah government, mainly looking at the former one, who “rather than decentralizing [his] post’s powers, as he had vowed, he has instead been quietly creating an even more dominant presidency, according to a range […]
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Testimony before the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, 18 March 2015 One of the most detailed looks at China’s role and interests in Afghanistan and Central Asia, byAndrew Small, Transatlantic Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States.
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New York Times, 17 March 2015 The pros-and-cons discussion about the so-called ‘uprising militais’ continues: A case study from Ghazni, featuring statements by local villagers like: “We are shivering with fear.” “For God’s sake, take these people away from us. We cannot stand their brutality.” “These uprisers, they are like roundworms in your stomach. They […]
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