Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Kate Clark

Not a Promising Start: The vetting of the presidential and provincial council candidates

Gran Hewad • Kate Clark •

Buried in a pre-election assessment report by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) are concerns about the transparency with which presidential and provincial council candidates have been vetted. Peter Manikas, NDI’s Asia director, said at a press conference earlier this month that they were concerned that “a number of people who should have been eligible candidates […]

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Candidates on Camera: Interviewing the next president of Afghanistan

Kate Clark •

Although campaigning for the presidential elections does not officially start until February 2014, the media has started interviewing the eleven candidates. This is a time for journalists to find out their plans and try to elicit specific promises on what they will or will not do should they become president. Most candidates have pasts to […]

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Meeting Mullah Baradar… or Maybe Not: Confusion over Taleban Talks

Kate Clark •

Yet again there is the impression of something being afoot on the matter of talks with the Taleban, at least as far as Afghan government aspirations go. During the visit of Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, to Kabul on 30 November 2013, both leaders had nice words to say about the peace process, with Sharif […]

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Afghanistan, the United States and the BSA: Who blinks first?

Kate Clark •

Since the consultative loya jirga that ended in confusion on Sunday (27 November 2013), United States’ and Afghan positions on the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) have hardened. President Karzai has added to the conditions he says must be met before he will sign the BSA, while President Obama’s National Security Advisor, Susan Rice, has said […]

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A Yes, a Maybe and a Threat of Migration: The BSA loya jirga’s last day

Kate Clark •

Whoever expected clarity and a swift signing of the US-Afghan Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) following the consultative loya jirga will be disappointed. The heads of the 50 committees duly reported back on this final day with a unanimity of views which strongly suggested prior coordination; all supported and almost all urged President Karzai to sign […]

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Shocks in a Lacklustre Speech: President Karzai addresses the jirga

Christine Roehrs • Kate Clark • Obaid Ali •

The consultative loya jirga, convened to scrutinise the Bilateral Security Agreement with the United States, has begun with a draft that was only agreed at the very last minute, confusion over the exact status and proceedings of the gathering and a lacklustre speech by President Karzai. The president made little attempt to really sell the […]

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The First Inklings of the Bilateral Security Agreement: Spanta briefs the Afghan parliament

Kate Clark •

Both Afghan and United States officials have, until now, been tight-lipped as to what is in the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) – which is to be scrutinised by a consultative loya jirga beginning on 21 November. If signed, it will govern the post-2014 deployment of US soldiers in Afghanistan. On Saturday, 16 November 2013, the […]

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The Nerkh Killings: The problem with ‘immunity’ for US soldiers

Kate Clark •

Revelations concerning the alleged involvement of US soldiers in the forced disappearance, murder and torture of Afghans in the Nerkh district of Wardak a year ago keep surfacing. The US insists its forces come only under US legal jurisdiction, that they are ‘immune’ from Afghan courts and that it will investigate any wrongdoing by its […]

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And Then They Were Ten: Preliminary final list of presidential candidates out

Kate Clark •

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) has purged the list of presidential hopefuls for the 2014 election from 27 candidates to 10, saying the rest had failed to meet the criteria for standing. It said they either had second nationalities or had failed to amass enough voter cards to support their candidacy. Those who have been […]

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The Lion Roars Again: BSA, Loya Jirga and a strong sense of déjà vu

Kate Clark •

Preparations are underway for the ‘consultative Loya Jirga’ which will meet in a month’s time, as the first step in deciding whether Afghanistan signs a Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the United States. The Afghan parliament will then either approve or reject the agreement. All this pushes the decision way past the 31 October deadline […]

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Not Signed and Sealed Just Yet: Kerry and Karzai’s deal on the Bilateral Security Agreement

Kate Clark •

The United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, has flown home with the basis of a Bilateral Security Agreement in his pocket, finally thrashed out with President Hamed Karzai. On this depends continuing US and NATO missions after 2014. Negotiations on the deal have been long and painful, AAN senior analyst Kate Clark reports, because […]

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A Leader Apologises: General Dostum, elections and war crimes

Kate Clark •

For the first time, a senior Afghan has made a public apology to those of his compatriots who suffered during the war. General Abdul Rashid Dostum, leader of the largely Uzbek Jombesh party / ex military faction, made the statement a day after registering as running mate to Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai in the presidential elections. […]

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