Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Posts tagged: Transition

Transition

Flash from the Past: Kabul security handed back to Afghans in 2008

Thomas Ruttig •

Ten years (and a few weeks) ago, in August 2008, a process started that would later become known as enteqal (transition), namely of security responsibility from NATO to the Afghan forces. (*) This process was supposed to be finalised by the end of 2014. Full troop withdrawal was never fully achieved, though. NATO troops’ “watchful eye […]

International Engagement Read more

Afghanistan’s Foreign Security Detainees: How many are there and what to do with them?

Kate Clark •

Afghanistan remains an attractive place for international jihadists to come and fight, despite the competing appeal of Syria, Iraq and elsewhere. Since the post-2001 insurgency broke out, foreign fighters have come from Pakistan, Central Asia and the Arab world, some bringing their families. An unknown number have ended up in Afghan detention. More information about […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

Afghanistan election sees heavy turnout despite Taliban warnings

AAN •

AP/CBC, 5 April 2014 Thde news agency has a short quote from AAN's Martine van Bijlert on the significance of the 2014 elections:  Martine van Bijlert, co-director of an independent research group called Afghanistan Analysts Network, noted the elections come as the country braces for the withdrawal of international combat troops. "They come at a time when […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Fear, Hope and Determination: Afghanistan and the 2014 Syndrome

Martine van Bijlert •

Ever since in 2011 President Obama announced his timeline for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, the prospect of 2014 has been looming ominously over the country. And now we are here, at the beginning of this almost mythical year. There is nervousness and fear, but also pushback, with some Afghans believing that the […]

Political Landscape Read more

Optimism at Security Transition in [Zabul]

AAN •

IWPR, 8 January 2014 A rare report from the southern province of Zabul, presenting some optimism, mainly expressed by government officials of provincial council members. The local population apparently was more concerned about US night raids then about the Taleban, and everyone seems to be happy to have national forces in the lead now. The […]

Recommended Reads Read more

2014 – A year to fight the fear in Afghanistan

AAN Team •

BBC, 1 January 2014 In her year opener looking ahead at the Afghan 2014, the BBC’s Lyse Doucet quotes a tweet by AAN’s Borhan Osman: “Let’s celebrate 2014 with a spirit of #Nofear #Nophobia.” And adds herself: “Even in a country where every year has been called “critical,” this one matters. Most foreign troops will pull out […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Some Things Got Better – How Much Got Good? A review of 12 years of international intervention in Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

2013 marked the year in which the international community started to wrap up many of the initiatives to re-build Afghanistan – arguably the biggest international effort since the post-Word-War-II Marshal Plan. But where did this effort leave the country? For AAN’s year-end piece, co-director Thomas Ruttig has summarised what has happened, what has been achieved – […]

International Engagement Read more

Highway 1 shows the difficulties ahead in Afghanistan

AAN •

USA Today, 5 December 2013 A telling piece about how transition to the ANSF and the US withdrawal looks in practice: "Highway 1 is more than just a dusty asphalt road. It … is supposed to be an example of the success of the 12-year effort by multinational forces to end Taliban control and showcase the […]

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Opaque and Dilemma-Ridden: A look back at transition

Thomas Ruttig •

At its Lisbon summit in November 2010 NATO made “transition” its official strategy for Afghanistan, setting mid-2013 as the time when responsibility for security throughout all of Afghanistan should have been handed over – or “transitioned” – from NATO to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) in a process of five phases. This time has […]

War and Peace Read more

Getting Ready for Change. Or: What to make of Fahim’s speech

Martine van Bijlert •

On 11 June 2013 First Vice President Marshal Qasim Fahim gave a rare public speech, that has been reverberating in the media ever since. The speech was an impassioned and long-winded call for national consensus, but while he was at it Fahim managed to deliver a few thinly veiled threats, touch on a couple of […]

Political Landscape Read more

A Potential Afghan Spill-Over: How Real Are Central Asian Fears?

S Reza Kazemi •

Afghanistan is bracing itself for its transition. Most foreign troops will be gone by 2014 and Afghanistan’s already controversial elections have been fixed for early April that year while peace with the armed opposition remains elusive. Afghan domestic politics aside, how is the transition in Afghanistan perceived in its northern neighbourhood, which is under-explored, compared […]

Regional Relations Read more

Guest blog: The question of succession

Mujib Mashal •

Along with the withdrawal of foreign troops, a crucial political transition is on the cards for Afghanistan in 2014. Hamid Karzai nears the end of his second term, the only two he is constitutionally allowed to serve. While rumours of Karzai playing with the constitution to allow himself a third term were rife months ago, […]

Political Landscape Read more

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