Eurasianet.org, 29 July 2010 Ignore the title and read how a program on community monitoring could be making small but crucial changes.
Recommended Reads
Christian Science Monitor, 28 July 2010 The story about how a over-reported but under-staffed and under-achieving development project lost hearts and minds in Badakhshan – with the usual ingredients: Afghanistan-unexperienced companies, subcontracting, and spening pressure, i.e.
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New York Times blog, 21 July 2010 Unfortunately, this tour was virtual only. The NYT’s Kabul bureau chief and her Afghan colleagues Sharifullah Sahak and Abdul Waheed Wafa report what Hillary Clinton and Gen. Petraeus COULD have seen if they had been able to leave the well-protected conference venues: people losing some days’ income because […]
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IWPR, 19 July 2010 Another encouraging story of Sarepul citizens who moved to block former commanders from running for parliament, and in an factionally balanced way: one Jamiati, one Jombeshi. This is while exit-prone Western governments look for ‘local strongmen’ as allies.
Recommended Reads
Frankfurter Allgemeine, 14 July 2010 For German speakers: Read Friederike Böge’s reportage from Kandahar about a city in the grip of fear – and how the author tried to get hold of Taleban war poetry.
Recommended Reads
Global Post, 13 July 2010 ‘What Afghans need is a transformation that ends a long pattern of human rights violations’, writes Norah Niland, until recently the chief UN human rights officer in Afghanistan, in an opinion piece.
Recommended Reads
dpa, 13 July 2010 ‘After a prayer, the sergeant asks for a motto for the patrol. «Fuck the Taliban», one soldier proposes. «Fuck the Taliban», it echoes back from the platoon. A reportage by Can Merey from his embedded tour in Kunduz (in German).
Recommended Reads
AfPak Channel, 12 July 2010 Read an interesting interview with journalist Anand Gopal reporting from Kandahar who broadens our view at ‘local power brokers’ beyond Ahmad Wali Karzai and talks about the ‘success’ of NATO strikes against the Taleban in the area: that a younger, more radical generation of fighters takes over.
Recommended Reads
Washington Post, 28 June 2010 Another report on how political protection undermines rule of law and prevents embezzlement from being exposed in Afghanistan
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Wall Street Journal, 25 June 2010 Another interesting contribution on Afghanistan’s political economy. Here: The boxes of money taken out of the country.
Recommended Reads
The Rolling Stone, 22 June 2010 THE Rolling Stone story that cost General Stanley McChrystal his Afghan job.
Recommended Reads
The Captain’s Journal, 21 June 2010 Hershel Smith’s interesting blog takes on the assumption that the Sons of Iraq option can be copied in Afghanistan (see our discussion of LDI) and looks at why Helmand ‘went wrong’ and on what he calls a ‘horrible deal’ with Mulla Salam in Musa Qala.
Recommended Reads
