Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Posts tagged: US

US

Conflict going East, conflict going on

Fabrizio Foschini •

The US-led Coalition has declared that its troops’ new strategic focus will be on eastern Afghanistan, after its claims of gains made in southern Afghanistan last year. Although the bad security situation in the East is not new, the recent emphasis on it may be mainly linked to the increased interest (and concern) of the […]

War and Peace Read more

Political Insecurity and Reports of Worrying Developments

Martine van Bijlert •

Afghan politics are fast-paced and slow at the same time; often more smoke than fire, but unpredictable enough to keep everyone on their toes and to keep the political class engaged in endless cycles of meetings. The chatter is a steady hum on the background of whatever is going on in the country. In insecure […]

Political Landscape Read more

Disrupted dialogue: Purported Taliban negotiator ‘goes missing’

admin •

The Express Tribune, 8 August 2011 Article claims that Tayyeb Agha has made himself unavailable and is no longer in touch with US negotiators (and quotes Mullah Zaeef who claims he may have never been).

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Washington Dropped the Ball on a Secret Afghan Wireless Communications Company that Might Have Prevented 9/11

admin •

Vanity Fair, 4 August 2011 Article describes the early days of what is now AWCC telecom – then called Afghan Wireless – and its dealings with both the Taleban government and the various US and British intelligence agencies. Interesting, but likely to feed the already growing paranoia inside Afghanistan.

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AAN In The Media – August 2011

AAN Team •

Mullah Omar: Fine, I Didn’t Want to Run Afghanistan Anyway Registan.com, 30 August 2011 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted in a Registan blog (not accessible from Afghanistan) on Mullah Omar’s Eid message, observing as of particular note the softer line toward the Kabul government and suggestion that the Taliban doesn’t seek to monopolize power. Report: […]

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Porous and Violent, Afghan-Tajik Border Is a Worry for the U.S.

admin •

New York Times, 9 July 2011 Apart from the US-centric headline (I think Afghans and Tajiks also must be worried), an interesting article on a part of Afghanistan’s borders which is rarely covered.

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Do the maths: victory cannot be bought in Afghanistan

admin •

The National (UAE), 1 July 2011 Some pretty interesting figures in this one: US military providing air conditioning for its troops in Iraq and Afghanistan comes out at $20 billion a year, more than the total budget of Nasa; by the time fuel reaches the US bases in Afghanistan, it costs $8 to $12 a […]

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AAN In The Media – July 2011

AAN Team •

Kabul’s economy leaves poor in the dark Sydney Morning Herald, 30 July 2011 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted here on expected post´2014 effects, on security and the economy. On the former, he quotes an Afghan friend: ‘”The day the West stops paying for the Afghan army and the Afghan police, the next day there is […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Welfare for Dictators (how Pentagon billions are flowing to strongmen in the Middle East)

admin •

Newsweek, 26 June 2011 Aram Rostam looks at single-source Pentagon contracts awarded to companies that are owned by the ruling families of Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Bahrein (based on ‘laws’ made by those same families): ‘We may be essentially buying our presence.’

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… and now: Eikenberry’s Reply

Thomas Ruttig •

President Karzai’s speech of 18 June, in which he called the US – amongst other things – ‘occupiers’ that ‘have not built the roads for us but for themselves’, has obviously hit a raw nerve. Karl Eikenberry, the US Ambassador in Kabul, gave a ‘surprisingly emotional response’ (The AfPakChannel) in Herat on Sunday which might […]

International Engagement Read more

Secret US and Afghanistan talks could see troops stay for decades

admin •

Guardian, 13 June 2011 Jason Burke weighs the implications of the Afghan-US strategic agreement ans says that Washington wants it finished in summer, before Obama’s declaration on a frist troop ‘drawdown’. This clashes with the Afghan idea to have such an agreement (or its priciples) agreed by a Loya Jirga. Apart, there are a few […]

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