Washington Post, 12 August 2010 Rajiv Chandrasekaran reports about plans to knock down a bazaar in Kandahar city, next to the Shrine of the Holy Cloak, and build a school instead – land ownership is controversial and has put the mayor against tha bazaaris. ‘U.S. reconstruction advisers lauded his decision’, too early, it seems – […]
Recommended Reads
Killid Newsletter, 11 October 2010 ‘The millions of dollars spent on constructing roads throughout Afghanistan are often cited as an achievement. The asphalting of 6000 kms of roads […] in the past nine years ought to have transformed the face of the country’ writes author Hamed Kohestani but ‘. That this has not happened is […]
Recommended Reads
Stars and Stripes, 9 October 2010 A story about US Army Female Engagement Teams in Zabul – with sentences like: ‘Women account for nearly half of all Afghans’ (a male officer says). ‘Engagement teams are an enabler of counter insurgency and comprehensive understanding of the operational environment’ (the same officer). ‘Few women in southern Afghanistan […]
Recommended Reads
Radio Free Europe, 7 October 2010 Abubakar Siddique talked to participants of the Abu Dhabi Process meeting in Kabul, amongst them Mulla Za’if who said that ‘a European research organization put together this seminar to discuss the problems in Afghanistan and how they can be resolved. It had opinion makers, intellectuals, and politicians from both […]
Recommended Reads
AP, 7 October 2010 A few interesting sentences in this one on the much ballyhooed Marja operation: ‘Eight months on, the Taliban are still here in force, waging a full-blown guerrilla insurgency that rages daily’ […] Since then, Marjah has become a microcosm of the war itself — and a metaphor for an insurgency that […]
Recommended Reads
Bloomberg, 4 October 2010 Samar, 53, is the “top pick,” said Kristian Berg Harpviken, head of the Oslo-based institute, which ranks potential winners.
Recommended Reads
Washington Post, 3 October 2010 Razeq ‘represents the Obama administration’s best hope for maintaining stability in this important part of Afghanistan’, writes the daily, despite his involvement in graft and drug trading. ‘Is it a long-term solution? That’s for others to decide,’ said the top NATO commander in the south, British Maj. Gen. Nick Carter. […]
Recommended Reads
AFP, 2 October 2010 The UN never published a report into rights violations in Afghanistan between 1978 and 2001 that accused Soviets, Islamists and US forces of ‘atrocities’, reported the Swiss daily Le Temps, Not mentioned is in this report that US pressure played a great part in the stop of the publication.
Recommended Reads
Le Temps (Geneva), 2 October 2010 «Dès décembre 2004, on a senti monter une certaine nervosité aux Nations unies à New York à propos d’une éventuelle publication», se souvient Patricia Gossman. Spécialiste de l’Afghanistan, chercheuse à l’International Center for Transitional Justice, elle a été l’un des trois rédacteurs du rapport. «Aucune raison officielle n’a été […]
Recommended Reads
New York Times, 1 October 2010 Read a letter to the editor by Ahmad Wali Karzai, including the following: ‘Fixing the Afghan election is impossible, even if someone were foolish enough to try. […] Of course, as an elected official, I supported candidates, mostly from my own tribe, the Popalzai. And I worked hard for […]
Recommended Reads
Washington Times, 1 October 2010 Mahmud Karzai’s lawyer speaks: The older brother of the President ‘is one of the few Afghan public figures brave enough to consistently call for a crackdown on corruption in his country’ and ‘has at times crossed American officials in the American Embassy in Kabul. Is it possible that a criminal […]
Recommended Reads
Granta magazin, 28 September 2010 Four Pakistani writers say how. From one proposal: 1. Must have mangoes. […] 8. Characters originating in rural areas must fight to prove that their mango is bigger than yours. See what is in between 1) and 8) and what comes after.
Recommended Reads
