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Posts tagged: NATO

NATO

Disputed Ownership of Afghan Site Used by NATO

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IWPR, 30 November 2012 According to the governor of the province, the US military has purchased land for a base in southern Logar – where it even has swallowed part of the main Kabul-Gardez road – from six people who even didn’t own it. The deal was done when late Abdullah Wardak – a Sayyaf […]

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‘Antaam’ statt ‘Itaam’: Nato muss Mission in Afghanistan umtaufen

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Spiegel online, 28 November 2012 NATO has decided to rename its post-2014 mission. Initially it was supposed to be called ‘International Training, Assistance and Advisory Mission (ITAAM). They found that too close to ‘Etteham’ (or Ittiham), a Dari word for ‘accusation’. The new name will be ANTAAM (Afghan Nato Training, Advisory and Assistance Mission).

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U.S. Planning a Force to Stay in Afghanistan

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New York Times, 26 November 2012 US and NATO planners are ‘drawing up the broad outlines of a force that would remain in Afghanistan following the handover to Afghan security after 2014’. This would include ‘a small [US] counterterrorism force with an eye toward Al Qaeda’ of ‘less than 1,000’ as well as ‘about 10,000 […]

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As NATO Nears Exit, Construction Dries Up

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As NATO Nears Exit, Construction Dries Up A curse or a blessing? According to the executive manager of the Afghan Builders Association, the number of construction companies in Afghanistan had fallen to at most 3,000, compared with 10,000 at one time, and there was a ’30 to 40 percent drop in investment in construction this […]

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NATO, Afghan Troops Shot Dead Afghan Civilians, Allegedly Covered Up

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Kabul Press, 30 October 2012 Another case on an issue dragging on for too long: two taleban (madrassa students) – mistaken for Taleban? – killed in a nught raid in Helmand.

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Guest Blog: Afghans or Americans on Top? The Future of Special Forces Operations in Afghanistan

Gary Owen •

In July, a new task force combining all international and Afghan special forces under a unified command was set up. Known as the Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan (SOJTF-A), it is led by an American general, but its spokesperson told AAN, ‘SOJTF-A does not have command of any Afghan Special Operations Forces, rather, we partner, […]

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In southern Afghanistan, concerns about what comes next

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Washington Post, 30 September 2012 A reportage from Garmser, Helmand, where again ‘tribal leaders are the backbone of this strategically vital region near. If they refuse to support the government after NATO forces leave, U.S. officials say there’s a good chance the Taliban could make a vigorous return. But if traditional leaders present a united […]

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Stabilizing Afghanistan a major diplomatic challenge

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People’s Daily (China), 25 September 2012 … including for China, writes a commentator with the interesting name Chen Chenchen in Beijing’s official English-language daily, the Global Times. ‘Many are speculating about the long-term ambitions of Beijing, believing that the emerging power is seeking a larger role in post-NATO Afghanistan and is looking for greater influence […]

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Abuse allegations mount against flagship Afghan police force

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Reuters, 29 August 2012 The discrepancies between the NATO narrative on the ALp and reality widens: Reuters reports, with reference to Afghanistan’s top military prosecutor, that ‘more than 100 ALP members have been jailed for crimes including murder, bombings, rapes, beatings and robbery’.

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Potholes on ISAF’s Northern Exit: a road trip through the Salang

Martin Gerner •

The news that Pakistan has agreed to re-open supply routes to Afghanistan (1) after a seven month diplomatic standoff between Washington and Islamabad will not only ease the costs for the US and other NATO member states for their withdrawal plans. It also procures northern Afghanistan – namely its road system and population – some […]

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Next to U.S. firing range in Afghanistan, a village of victims

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Washington Post, 26 May 2012 A report about the problem of NATO troops’ ‘unfenced and poorly marked’ firing ranges and training grounds in Afghanistan, here near Bagram where hundreds of unexploded explosives litter the area and ‘farmers, scrap-metal collectors and sheep herders have been crippled, blinded and burned by U.S. military ammunition’. It is not […]

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Happy Christmas (2014), Will War Be Over?

Thomas Ruttig •

The spin from Chicago is working. Many media reported that the war in Afghanistan will be over and Western troops gone by 2014. Apparently, they did not get President Obama’s full message that was much more subtle: that the war ‘as we know it’ will be over. It will change its character and the new […]

War and Peace Read more

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