Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

War and Peace

This thematic category brings together AAN’s reporting on the conflict in Afghanistan, its underlying causes and drivers, the various armed actors and how it affects Afghans in their everyday lives.

Operation Resolute Restraint: The German Troop Offer for Post-2014

Thomas Ruttig •

The German government has surged ahead by offering concrete troop numbers for the ISAF successor mission to begin in January 2015. What is sold as taking the lead is mainly dictated by domestic considerations (general elections in September) and the urge to stay in the comparatively calm north of Afghanistan to avoid casualties. AAN’s Senior […]

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Is the Taleban Insurgency a Holy or an Unholy War? An Afghan-Pakistani ulema debate

Borhan Osman •

The Pakistani ulema were never particularly vocal supporters of the current Taleban’s insurgency in Afghanistan until the Afghan government approached them to talk about peace. Or at least their support had not been expressed publicly before. Then one Pakistani mulla, Maulana Tahir Ashrafi, head of the Pakistan Ulema Council, made such controversial remarks about suicide […]

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Security at the Fringes: the case of Shujai in Khas Uruzgan

Martine van Bijlert •

The build-up of the formal Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) is one of the main pillars of the transition strategy. However, in practice many security responsibilities are, and will continue to be, held by a myriad of hybrid and auxiliary forces that often operate under unclear lines of authority. Observers and media have been describing […]

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The Qatar Office Conundrum: Karzai’s quest for control over Taleban talks

Thomas Ruttig •

During President Karzai’s recent visit to Qatar, discussions about a possible Taleban office were high on the agenda, and the visit had been charged with expectations in advance. Surprisingly, not much has been officially publicised about its outcome after the president returned home. AAN’s Senior Analyst Thomas Ruttig tries to make sense of the trip […]

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The Morphing of the Andar Uprising: Transition to Afghan Local Police

Emal Habib •

The much-publicised anti-Taleban ‘uprising’ in Ghazni’ s Andar district is almost one year old, yet no side has managed to consolidate its control over the area. Violence has not let up during the last 12 months and the year ahead looks set to be just as bloody. Our author, Emal Habib, has been closely following […]

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A War of Attrition in Farah Province

Fabrizio Foschini •

With the withdrawal of foreign troops taking place countrywide, it is inevitable that not all provinces fare the same, given the differences in insurgents’ and government’s degree of attention. Farah, a province where transition was scheduled late by all standards, has experienced a serious deterioration in security, even before the transition was over. The second […]

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Trying to Control the Uncontrolled: the NSC’s decision on Wardak

Martine van Bijlert •

Months of reported abuses in Wardak by armed groups and individuals apparently linked to a US Special Operations base, and the failure of ISAF to take responsibility or to adequately respond, has led the National Security Council to announce that all US Special Operations Forces are to be removed from Wardak within two weeks. Although […]

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Beans and Bullets: Pentagon report puts ANSF logistical and combat capabilities in doubt

Gary Owen •

Since the 2014 deadline for the withdrawal of all NATO combat troops has been set, the strengthening of Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) so that they can defend Afghanistan from the insurgency has become a central pillar of NATO’s strategy. The most complete, publicly available records of the progress of the ANSF come as part […]

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When and Why to Catch a TTP Leader: Faqir Muhammad’s Arrest

Fabrizio Foschini •

The capture last week of a prominent Pakistani militant in the Afghan province of Nangrahar by Afghan police and intelligence has made a sensation in both countries, being widely interpreted as a positive step for diplomatic relations and cooperation. But it also led to controversial commentaries by some observers. The presence inside Afghanistan of Pakistani […]

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Fewer Deaths, But…: UNAMA’s 2012 Civilian Casualties Report (amended)

Kate Clark •

‘Civilian deaths in Afghan Conflict fall for the first time in six years’ was the good news top line of the new 2012 report by UNAMA on the protection of civilians. Fewer civilians were killed in suicide attacks, ground engagements and aerial attacks, said UNAMA. The Taleban remain responsible for bulk of civilian deaths, while […]

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The Civilian Casualty Tightrope: Karzai Bans ANSF Calling in ‘Foreign’ Airstrikes on Villages

Gary Owen •

In a blistering speech on 16 February 2013, President Hamed Karzai called requests to foreigners by Afghan security forces for airstrikes on Afghan villages ‘shameful’.(1) His office said that tomorrow, he will issue a decree formally banning requests for strikes on what is being described in the English press as ‘residential areas’. The president’s move […]

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Allen, Obama and Orwell: Continuing War is Victory

Kate Clark •

President Obama in his State of the Union address announced what to many looks like an accelerated drawdown of US troops with half out of Afghanistan by this time next year. ‘We can say with confidence,’ Obama said, ‘that America will complete its mission in Afghanistan and achieve our objective of defeating the core of […]

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